Welcome to Spring!
Longer days are here, but that doesn’t necessarily mean winter weather is behind us. The joy of
spring is the variety of conditions we are lucky to see on any given day. This month’s update
includes some reminders for spring driving safety, an overview of ESG, and a reminder to review the
most recent Alberta OHS Code updates.
Spring Driving Safety
Did you know that 28% of fatal collisions in Alberta occur between April and June? To prep your
vehicle, and yourself, for the coming months, here are some tips to follow:
• Ensure tires are properly inflated and have sufficient tread.
• Make sure your windshield wiper fluid is topped up.
• Leave your winter tires on until temperature stays above 7 degrees Celsius on average. Winter
tires provide greater traction than summer tires if temperatures are colder than that.
• Watch for more pedestrians and cyclists as fair weather arrives. Additionally, with longer days,
people may be outside later in the day. Be diligent in school and playground zones.
• Obey posted speed limits and construction signage. Road construction and maintenance ramps up as
the weather becomes more favourable.
• Never use cruise control on wet or slippery roads.
• Keep your eyes peeled for animals:
o Animals will become more active as the weather warms up and food sources wake up.
o Animals tend to be most active at dawn and dusk, when visibility is challenging.
o Animals tend to move in groups. If you see one animal, slow down and keep a lookout for more.
For more information and resources: Automotive Resources
ESG – What Is It?
ESG, or Environment, Social and Governance, is a framework of factors that are related to the
performance of an organization and reflect its contribution to sustainable development.
Examples of factors that fall into each of the categories include:
Environment: carbon emissions, waste management, energy use
Social: working conditions, health and safety program, diversity, and equal opportunities
Governance: board and management diversity, risk management, compliance, and
corruption
Depending on the nature of your organization, you may have seen communication regarding some or all
of these factors from clients or customers. Larger organizations tend to have the resources to
establish an ESG framework; however, all contributors to that organization’s business feed into the
overall ESG performance, and all aspects of an organization contribute to ESG information. At Kasa,
health and safety is our area of expertise. However, there is crossover with other aspects of
business. Examples of collaborative data that can be gathered include information regarding
employee rights, responsibilities and safety procedures (HR), regarding waste management and spill
prevention (Operations), as well as costs associated with fuel consumption, emissions and materials
usage (Project Control/Management).
Moving forward with this knowledge, and with ESG factors becoming more commonly requested and
reported (although not yet mandatory), it is advisable to begin identifying information that is
relevant to operations, reasonable to collect, and meaningfully contribute to either ESG
information from your own organization’s perspective, or those of your clients/customers that
contribute to the bigger picture.
More information on ESG frameworks
Alberta OHS Code Updates
A reminder to ensure that you are up to date with the recent updates to the Alberta OHS Code, which
are now in effect. Visit the link below to access bulletins which review the changes, and
familiarize yourself with those that are applicable to your business and scope of work. Updates
have been made to apply to various sections of the code, including oil and gas, confined spaces,
fall protection, noise exposure, managing controls in hazard energy, cranes, hoists and lifting
devices and first aid.
• OHS Publication. Legislation changes (alberta.ca)
Please contact your Kasa representative for assistance in implementing these changes to your health
and safety program, ensuring your company is up to date with the changes and new
requirements.