Consulting Services
Beyond Compliance consulting provides clients with a variety of EHS services that enhance performance and management while minimizing risk. We are a recognized leader in EHS compliance assessment services and EHS management systems development and have provided these services to a wide range of industry sectors.Regulatory and Technical Strength
Our team possess detailed knowledge of EHS regulatory programs and have demonstrated their ability to evaluate complex scenarios in the field. Our familiarity with a broad range of industries allows our project team to “hit the ground running.”
Substantial technical expertise in conducting multi-media EHS compliance audits
Our team performed nearly 500 EHS compliance audits throughout the country and overseas. These audits evaluated EHS compliance for most industry sectors including manufacturing, aerospace, semiconductor, biopharma, utilities, and government. Our familiarity with a great number of industries allows our project team to “hit the ground running.”
EHS compliance training
Our team has regularly taught EHS compliance training, auditing, and regulatory update courses for scores of facilities and universities.
Thought Leadership
Our principal, Gary Lucks JD CPEA has over 35 years of EHS experience and has written extensively on environmental law and policy as described further below. Mr. Lucks coauthored a comprehensive reference book on environmental law entitled California Environmental Law and Policy: A Practical Guide, published by Solano Press. He also wrote the chapter on environmental auditing found in the California Environmental Law and Land Use Practice treatise for Matthew Bender/LexisNexis. Finally, for the past 25 years, he has authored the lead article on environmental law and policy for the California Environmental Law Reporter.
Compliance Services
EHS Compliance Audits
Environmental compliance audits often reveal “hidden” regulatory and other liabilities within facilities and are designed to identify regulatory gaps that require corrective action. Beyond Compliance conducted nearly 500 multi-media (air quality, hazardous waste and materials, water quality, storm water, and health and safety) EHS compliance audits of all major industry sectors throughout the United States and overseas.
EMS Conformity Audits
Environmental Management System (EMS) conformity audits evaluate the degree to which an organization’s EMS is aligned with the ISO 14001 standard. We have developed EMSs for scores of facilities and completed a number of EMS conformity audits as well.
Legal Registries
Leading edge companies understand the critical importance of building and maintaining tools that manage EHS compliance risk. An Environmental Legal register is a risk management tool that, in its absence is often a root cause for environmental noncompliance. It can also be used to show regulatory agencies that the facility operates in good faith. A Legal Registry Identifies all potentially applicable environmental (federal, state, regional, local, and DOE) requirements that are "applicable" to current and prospective operations and activities.
Legislative and Regulatory Analysis
What new environmental laws will impact your business and how will your business stay on top of new regulatory developments? Beyond Compliance staff has extensive experience tracking and analyzing new EHS laws and regulations and is uniquely qualified to advise on legislative implications and strategies to comply.
Compliance Management Systems (CMS) and Compliance Optimization
Beyond Compliance developed CMPs for organizations across the country. Like an EMS, a compliance focused management system systematically organizes EHS programs to better manage compliance. CMSs can take the form of a comprehensive manual or a web-enabled enterprise framework that incorporates applicable regulatory requirements governing facility operations and translates them into standard operating procedures assigning roles, responsibilities, compliance calendars, and many other tools to enhance compliance. Beyond Compliance has worked with several organizations to facilitate “beyond compliance” strategies including a program that helped remove a company from probation with the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Permitting
Beyond Compliance helps numerous clients from diverse industries navigate applicable EHS permits and approvals and assists them with regulatory agency interface. Beyond Compliance has a proven track record having permitted hundreds conventional projects and electric charging stations throughout California and the western states.
Environmental Plans
Beyond Compliance staff have extensive experience developing SB 14 hazardous waste pollution prevention plans, SPCC (spill prevention control and countermeasure) plans, integrated contingency plans, storm water plans, and hazardous materials business plans.
Environmental & Sustainability Training
We offer customizable facility or industry-specific environmental training for over a dozen EHS programs ranging from hazardous waste and hazardous materials management, air quality and climate, storm water, Spill Prevention & Countermeasure Control (SPCC), environmental legislative/regulatory updates, compliance audits, EMS, and sustainability.
Sustainability Services
Green Infrastructure Permitting
With over 50 years of highly relevant permitting expertise, Beyond Compliance has a proven track record having permitted hundreds of electric charging stations, cell towers (e.g., Electrify America, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile) throughout California and the western states. We have deep agency experience and relationships with planning agencies and has “behind-the-counter” depth and experience.
Environmental Management Systems (EMS)
EMSs provide a more comprehensive framework than a CMS. Beyond Compliance provides assistance with any level of EMS (e.g. auditing, training, implementation), from the very first steps, through the process to optimization and continuous improvement. Beyond Compliance has extensive experience designing and implementing scores of environmental management systems (EMSs) pursuant to ISO 14001. The EMS range from emphasizing environmental compliance and to both compliance and sustainability.
Sustainability Strategies
Beyond Compliance sustainability experts design and deliver workshops on sustainability for industrial and facility managers about the connection with global issues of climate change and natural resource depletion and their work at the plant and to generate ideas and actions in resource efficiency and pollution prevention. In previous training sessions, participants have identified opportunities for improvement and action plans, many of them potentially yielding significant cost savings of several hundred thousand dollars.
Corporate Social Responsibility strategy and implementation
Beyond Compliance has facilitated several sustainability strategies with the C-Suite crafting 5- and 10-year sustainability road maps.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
CSR is becoming an imperative in corporate structure. We navigate the variety of standards including SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board), the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) and promote those CSR principles and ideas in a way that you can apply to your organization. We also provide advice on managing the risk of “greenwashing” and helping organizations that unintentionally make false and misleading “green claims” in violation of the Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guide rules.
Pollution Prevention (P2)
The most effective way to manage pollution is to prevent it at its source. Beyond Compliance assists in finding technical, process and management solutions to increase resource efficiency to reduce pollution and wasted inputs upstream. Eco-audits typically provide an assessment of missed environmental opportunities to promote energy and resource efficiencies.
Other Resources
Through partnerships and affiliations, Beyond Compliance offers assistance in the following areas:
Various software packages supporting EMS/CMS, CSR benchmarking and performance
Environmental Impact Analysis to comply with CEQA
Mr. Gary Lucks JD, CPEA
Mr. Gary Lucks JD, CPEA is the principal environmental attorney with deep expertise in environmental, health, and safety (EHS) law, legislative affairs, and sustainability strategy. He has over 35 years of experience advising Fortune 500 clients in most industry sectors. He is a licensed attorney, a scientist, and a Certified Professional Environmental Auditor (CPEA) who has completed or overseen close to 500 major EHS compliance audits across the country and overseas. He also specializes environmental compliance counseling, environmental auditing, environmental management systems (EMS), permitting, and training. He wrote environmental policy briefing papers for Governor Newsom, Senator Feinstein, Senator Steinberg, State Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, and Marin County Supervisor Charles McGlashan. He serves on the California Lawyer’s Association Environmental Law Section’s Executive Committee leading environmental legislation, sustainability, and education committees. He also served as an Advisor to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and co-founded the Sustainable Earth Initiative--a non-profit dedicated to helping public agencies improve environmental performance and advance sustainability initiatives. Mr. Lucks has published extensively on environmental law, legislation, and policy. He co-wrote a book on environmental law (California Environmental Law and Policy: A Practical Guide which is used in law schools, colleges, by practitioners, and which has been cited in legal opinions). He also wrote the Environmental Auditing Chapter in the California Environmental Law and Land Use Practice. He has been a regular contributor to the California Environmental Law Reporter for over twenty-five years.
James Stettler
James Stettler has over 25 years of experience in hazardous materials and hazardous waste management.
After moving to the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) Hazardous Waste Facility Permitting Division, James returned to what he loved best, helping the public and businesses, in the position of Public and Business Liaison and Regulatory Assistance Officer for Region 2 of DTSC. In his eight years in that position, James used his skills in interpreting complex issues, statutes, and regulations into understandable guidance to field questions about toxics and environmental regulation.
His audience ranged from citizens concerned about chemicals on a label to major environmental attorneys regarding interpretation and applicability of complex rules on their clients’ operations. He led development of plain-language regulatory guidance that is still in use today, as well as making presentations at conferences and business workshops throughout the state. James received the 2004 California Sustained Superior Accomplishment Award for outstanding work in DTSC’s Office of the Assistant Director as the Public and Business Liaison.
He also served as a hazardous waste facility inspector, where he conducted inspections at some of the largest and most complex manufacturing and research facilities in the Bay Area. Due to his experience in education, DTSC tapped James for the curriculum development team for the original California Compliance School, a successful program of adult education for business owners and employees that manage hazardous waste and materials that is still thriving today. James was awarded the DTSC Regional Administrator’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in 1994.
As the DTSC’s California Unified Program (CUPA) was rolled out in 1996, he was part of the regional team that developed and delivered training on the new programs to the local agencies of the Bay Area and Northern California.
James spent his last three years at DTSC as Senior Hazardous Substance Scientist in the DTSC’s Pollution Prevention Program, where he worked with the Association of Bay Area Governments to keep the Bay Area Green Business Programs funded during difficult times, and contributed to developing a grant for the development of their Web portal.
James completed his public service as a fire and hazmat inspector with Sonoma County Fire and Emergency Services Department. As an ICC certified UST Inspector, James was the Underground Storage Tank (UST) subject matter expert at the Sonoma County Fire and conducted almost all their UST install plan checks. James earned the CSTI certification to become Certified Hazardous Materials Technician/Specialist and served as a member of the Sonoma County Hazardous Materials Response Team throughout his time at the County. His background in chemistry and industrial facilities led to his position as Technical Reference Specialist for the team until his retirement. James is also a State Fire Marshal Certified Fire Prevention Officer.
Joe Dionne CSP, CIH
Joe Dionne CSP, CIH has over 35 years of Safety and Cal OSHA auditing experience and is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and a Certified Industrial Hygienist. Joe Provide EHS consulting services to a multinational facilities management corporation. Assignments have included transition team leader for onboarding EHS professionals to new client organizations, industrial hygiene services and safety policy and procedure development.
He has served in as the role as EHS manager or Vice President for Clorox and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory managing hundreds of EHS staff members. He also served as the Division Safety Coordinator and Industrial Hygiene Manager at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where he led and mentored seven direct report industrial hygienists and reinvigorated the Safety Culture Initiative by engaging senior management in safety culture survey results and developing effective action plans.
At Clorox, he led and executed the Clorox’s global EHS strategy, tactics and organizational improvements producing "world class" EHS performance and implemented EHS Management systems to evaluate and manage major operational risks.