Do you know about Earth Hour? Earth Hour is a worldwide movement organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Held annually, this event encourages individuals, communities, and businesses to turn off non-essential electric lights for one hour as a symbol of commitment to the planet.

Since 2007, it has grown to engage more than 7,000 cities and towns across 187 countries and territories to raise awareness for energy consumption and effects on the environment.

You can learn more about it, how to take part and view the countdown on the WWF site at https://www.earthhour.org/what-is-earth-hour.

This year, Earth Hour is scheduled for March 30, from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

Will you switch off?

An announcement was made today that the EPA released an updated Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory. The TSCA requires EPA to keep a current list of each chemical substance manufactured or processed for use in the United States, including imports. This list, called the “TSCA Inventory,” is important in the regulation of most industrial chemicals here in the U.S.

Are you aware of the chemicals in the products you use? Products found on the jobsite or at home? Products used in your everyday life? Some chemicals pose risks to our health and the environment. Knowing how to handle, store and transport chemicals before you use them can keep you free from dangers, as well as violations. Stay educated. Check out all of our environmental safety courses now and learn how to manage these substances properly.

“EPA Releases First Major Update to Chemicals List in 40 Years

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an update of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory listing the chemicals that are actively being manufactured, processed and imported in the United States.

A key result of the update is that less than half of the total number of chemicals on the current TSCA Inventory (47 percent or 40,655 of the 86,228 chemicals) are currently in commerce. As the result of a tremendous effort on behalf of thousands of stakeholders and manufacturers from across the country, this information will help EPA focus risk evaluation efforts on chemicals that are still on the market.

“It’s important for us to know which chemicals are actually in use today. This will help us with our work prioritizing chemicals, evaluating and addressing risks. This information also increases transparency to the public,” said Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Assistant Administrator Alexandra Dapolito Dunn.

As recently as 2018, the TSCA Inventory showed over 86,000 chemicals available for commercial production and use in the U.S. Until this update, it was not known which of these chemicals on the TSCA Inventory were actually in commerce. Under amended TSCA – The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21 Century Act – EPA was required to update the list and designate which chemicals are active or inactive in U.S. commerce.

More than 80 percent (32,898) of the chemicals in commerce have identities that are not Confidential Business Information (CBI), increasing public access to additional information about them. For the less than 20 percent of the chemicals in commerce that have confidential identities, EPA is developing a rule outlining how the Agency will review and substantiate all CBI claims seeking to protect the specific chemical identities of substances on the confidential portion of the TSCA Inventory.

From August 11, 2017 through October 5, 2018, chemical manufacturers and processors provided information on which chemicals were manufactured, imported or processed in the U.S. over the past ten years, the period ending June 21, 2016. The agency received more than 90,000 responses, which represents a significant reporting effort by manufacturers, importers and processors.

To download the public version of the initial TSCA Inventory, get more information about the TSCA Inventory Notification (Active-Inactive) Requirements rule, or requirements to notify EPA going forward: http://www.epa.gov/tsca-inventory”

With 2019 now underway, we can reflect on our past year’s workplace performance and plan ahead for our future needs. “To any business, human capital is its greatest asset and the biggest key to achieving business goals. How can you better prepare your teams to perform in a highly competitive environment? Through training.

Learning and technology walk hand in hand. As high-tech innovations accelerate, so does the opportunity to create better corporate training programs and delivery methods.” Everyone from Managers to field employees need training to support professional development, individual skill growth and to ultimately meet overall business objectives.

According to Forbes, “[m]ore than ever, training is effectively providing skills that match the way we learn in a high-tech world.” Here are their top learning and development trends to pay attention to in 2019.

Seven Learning And Development Trends To Adopt In 2019

“1. C-suite and HR work together better to align goals.

The biggest mistake I see that keeps an organization’s learning and development efforts from reaching their full potential is a lack of planning and commitment from the C-suite. Leaders who don’t plan exactly what they want their training to accomplish are wasting resources. In a learning culture, management and HR work together to define the values, processes and practices that employees, departments and the organization can use to increase their performance and competencies. The knowledge and skills acquired and applied by employees is shared freely in a learning culture, creating a sustainable and adaptable organization.

2. Develop competencies for future organizational goals.

To maintain the continued health of your company, management must target employees who can take over future leadership roles. For current employees, immediately begin training on leadership development, communication and problem-solving skills. If they aren’t already, HR can target job candidates with leadership potential in all their talent acquisition efforts. Management can help develop future leaders and managers as soon as new employees enter the door by providing mentors and helping them build professional networks. Improving your leadership development program helps you build teams that are agile and capable of evolving with the times.

3. Emphasize communication skills.

As organizations become more diverse and broaden their reach, company leaders see the value in developing their employees’ soft skills, such as emotional intelligence, collaboration and negotiation. In fact, more than 90% of respondents to a 2016 Deloitte survey rated soft skills a “critical priority.” They also indicated that soft skills can foster employee retention, improve leadership and build a meaningful culture.

However, there is widespread concern among recruiters that the soft skills gap is widening with the technologically savvy but soft-skill-poor Gen Z employees entering the workforce. Learning and development personnel can overcome this challenge by offering soft skills training to employees and encouraging them to refine their social skills. An introduction to soft skills training may include holding brainstorm sessions where employees list the possible uses for various soft skills or helping them role play to discover different situational outcomes.

4. Increase the gamification of training.

There is a misunderstanding about gamification and training programs in the real world. Unwitting business owners will scoff at the notion of gamification because they believe it means turning their training programs into video games. Understandably, they feel that their critical and potentially life-saving OSHA-compliance training should not be equivalent to Donkey Kong. What they don’t realize is that gamification is simply a process of building a progressive reward system into training that imitates modern video games.

Badges, points, leaderboards and community involvement incentivize the online training experience for even the most jaded learner. Learners who lack the passion and drive to participate can use these tools as a springboard until their core motivation kicks in.

5. View training as an employee benefit and bait for talent acquisition.

Training can be a key differentiator between companies competing for talent. Employees want to work for organizations that provide personal and professional development, and they consider it a deciding factor when looking for new employment or determining if they should stay with their current employer. Learning and development plays a critical role in engaging — and retaining — employees. Leverage your training as an employee incentive, and add it to your existing benefits package alongside retirement and health and wellness options.

6. Weigh learner-centric against content-oriented training.

Training in the past that focused solely on content was “one size fits all,” which made it difficult to engage with the learner. Today, we must zero in on the learner, including his or her experience, work environment, performance and technological fluency, to create a training program. Any effective training program is one developed for the individual and offers social activities to share their experiences.

As you train, think of your employees as consumers. They are used to getting 500,000 results per search on Google, YouTube automatically playing related videos based on what they’ve just watched, and Netflix suggesting content matches based on viewing pattern algorithms. For the learning consumer, training clips on your YouTube channel, a classroom training session, a MOOC (massive online open course) or a post shared on Facebook Workplace are elements that can be turned into learning content.

7. Digital and mobile content and delivery are more critical than ever.

According to a 2018 study by LinkedIn, the biggest challenge for talent development is getting employees to make time for learning. Employees would agree that they don’t have the time to take away from their primary jobs to get the training. Delivering your training on multiple platforms, such as classroom, mobile and on-demand, can help eliminate the time crunch for busy employees.

These seven learning and development trends provide a good indication of where the training industry is heading. It is about personalization, ongoing support and making the most of today’s cutting-edge technologies. It also gives your employees the incentives and social interactions they need to actively engage.”

Is training a priority for you in 2019? Your company may depend on it. Remember, our cloud-based training offers environmental and safety courses at your convenience, available 24/7 wherever you go – even on your mobile devices. Keep track of your completed courses, performance and earn points and badges for your successful accomplishments. Voice over narration, instructional videos and knowledge checks are all available to ensure you are understanding the material provided. Maintaining your compliance has never been easier. View our training catalog now to get started.

To view the full Forbes article, click here.