Americans waste 150,000 tons of food each day, which is the equivalent to a pound per person, says the Guardian. According to the article, research shows that people with healthy diets that are rich in fruit and vegetables are in fact the most wasteful. The article states that, fruit and vegetables require less land to grow than other foods but in turn, require a large amount of water and pesticides. 

It explains, “This waste has an environmental toll, with the volume of discarded food equivalent to the yearly use of 30m acres of land, 780m pounds of pesticide and 4.2tn gallons of irrigated water. Rotting food also clogs up landfills and releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.”

Lisa Jahns, a nutritionist at USDA and co-author of the study, said, “we need a simultaneous effort to increase food quality as well as reduce food waste. We need to put both of those things out.” Further stating that food waste occurs from farm to plate in the US. A report by the Center for Biological Diversity states, only four out of the 10 largest grocery chains in the US have specific food waste reduction commitments and a further 10 don’t prevent the waste of food considered too cosmetically imperfect to sell.

Jahns also says that consumers in busy households do not prioritize the time and energy it takes to prepare food.

What can we do? I’m glad you asked!

Over two fulfilling seasons we’ve traveled back to the 80s and along with the great music, big hair and nostalgia, we were given answers about the governmental experiments, supernatural forces and captivating updates on old and new characters’ lives.

Although Stranger Things is a science fiction/horror story, I feel there’s a lot that we can learn from this fictional world that can coincide with key factors that are critical to heavily-regulated Life Science professionals.

Following these lessons for quality and compliance management can be “easy peasy” just like Bob says.

It’s that time of year again! Winter Solstice, December 21^st, is marked as the shortest day of the year and the start of Winter.

In the spirit of the occasion, let’s suspend disbelief for just a moment.

Jack Frost has been gathering all of his 2016 reports with his new centralized system for water management so that he is well prepared to create winter’s finest treasures—frost, ice, snow and sleet!

EtQ is pleased to announce the latest release of Verse Solutions, 12.0e.  Two key additions to the latest release include a Task Management tool for all compliance needs and a Promotion Tool specific to Life Sciences.

It’s that time again! Time to applaud the newest Culture Ambassador Award Winners, Annamarie DiMezza and Ala’ Khalil. The EtQ Culture Ambassador Award is how our company applauds employees who show exemplary performance that supports the overall organizational goals and culture of our company.

EHS Today’s Safety Leadership Conference will take place from November 28th to November 30th in Atlanta, GA and EtQ is excited.

The Safety Leadership Conference is a great place to learn from high level safety professionals, participate in hands-on workshops with lessons in safety standards, focus on becoming a safety leader and building a safety culture and meet America’s safest companies. This year, attendees can even tour some of Atlanta’s top facilities to gather insight on best safety practices.

EtQ is the sponsor of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium Tour which will highlight the safety considerations and challenges involved in the complex construction of the stadium, which includes 27,000 tons of steel that make up the roof and how it has as many as 2,000 workers on site daily. Attendees will be guided through the process taken to identify both potential workplace and fan safety issues and programs for opening and operating the building. The tour will provide parties with the amenities that Mercedes-Benz Stadium has to offer. For more information, see here. 

EtQ is excited to be among other EHS professionals discussing and sharing best leadership and safety practices. We’ve handpicked a few things we're looking forward to!

There are many life lessons taught in The Jungle Book. Some of my favorite quotes from the book that can be applied to Quality Management Software are:

EtQ is excited to attend the 25^th annual NAEM EHS & Sustainability Management Forum in Fort Lauderdale, FL from October 25^th to October 27^th. 

This year, more than 275 companies will gather in-house with corporate EHS&S decision-makers and peer leaders to network, attend sessions and develop best practice solutions.

EtQ is a Gold Sponsor of the show and you can find us planted at booth 402!

Earlier this week, seven people were hospitalized after an explosion at what was believed to at first have been an oil rig, later discovered as a natural gas storage platform in Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana. One remains missing.

As stated in the NBC News article, four of the seven people injured in the explosion were released from hospitals on Monday, October 16^th. Rescue workers were able to make it onto the smoldering rig and shut off the main gas line.

The exact cause of the explosion is unclear, officials say. In the aftermath, they said they “suspect it was touched off after cleaning chemicals on the platform ignited during some kind of maintenance work.”

While emergency situations often occur unexpectedly, there are methods that can be put in place to lower the risk of an event’s occurrence.

The 2017 Marcum Workplace Challenge was a huge success! The Marcum Challenge was a 3.5-mile run/walk for charity and Long Island’s largest office picnic.

The EtQ Fun Committee put together a great picnic for our employees who came to participate in the run/walk. We had a handful of team members competing in the race and invited friends and family to come join us!

This year, the event attracted more than 12,000 participants from 195 corporate teams and we are proud to have been one of them. Since the tradition began, the Marcum Challenge has raised more than $700,000 for charity beneficiaries including the Long Island Children’s Museum (LICM), Children’s Medical Fund of New York, Long Island Cares, Inc – The Harry Chapin Food Bank and the Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.