The GEMI’s Tool Chair oversees the activities of GEMI’s Committees, Networks and Work Groups. 

• GEMI Committees: Committees work on procedural, administrative or strategic issues as directed by the Board

• GEMI Networks: Networks conduct ongoing discussions on member-driven topics, and may serve as prelude or postscript to a Work Group

• GEMI Work Groups: Work Groups develop focused tools (from concept to finished product) with designated resources

GEMI has identified three signature issues that it will be focusing its activities on for the next couple of years.  GEMI is still in the discussion phase as to how best to address these issues to meet the needs of its members and the organization as a whole.  The issues are:  Climate and Energy; Supply Chain; and Water Sustainability.

Each Committee, Network and Work Group provides unique opportunities to work with and learn from EHS and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) leaders from a wide range of industrial sectors.

If it were possible to develop individually any one of the documents or activities outlined above, the costs of any one effort could far exceed GEMI’s dues for the year.

Thousands of copies of GEMI documents have been distributed to domestic and international audiences that refer to the positive environmental, health and safety and corporate citizenship activities and practices of many GEMI companies.

GEMI's Benchmarking Committee Benchmarking Committee identifies and benchmarks key environmental, health and safety management practices. Examples of benchmarking topics include: interaction with corporate board of directors, EHS cost accounting practices, EHS auditing practices, relationships with suppliers/contractors, sustainability and community relations. NOTE: After one year, benchmarking survey results are posted on GEMI's public Benchmark Survey page.

As part of GEMI’s ongoing effort to increase the value of participating in GEMI, issues of interest to the membership are benchmarked at each of the meetings. The benchmarking process includes identifying a key issue, identifying a GEMI member company to lead each benchmarking exercise, developing a survey form that each GEMI company responds to, and finally collecting and presenting the survey results to the members. The presentation of the benchmarking survey results includes a brief presentation from a member company that is deemed one of the “best in class” to share their experiences with the issue. Example of issues that were benchmarked include:

• Sustainable Business & Strategy: Views From the Inside -- GEMI and Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) conducted their first ever joint benchmark survey, November 2006
• EHS Metrics and Processes for Leading Indicators Survey, April 2007
• EHS Headcount, May 2008

If a company participates in an independently developed benchmarking exercise, the cost can be in the range of $10,000 to $20,000 per company, per issue benchmarked. GEMI typically completes three or four benchmarking surveys per year at no additional cost beyond the annual dues.

In addition, GEMI members and Networks conduct several "Quick Surveys" comprised of 5-7 questions on issues and items of interest that members are addressing throughout the year.

Communications & Marketing (C&M) Committee is responsible for extending GEMI's presence abroad through national and international press relations. The Committee establishes well-defined guidelines for the creation and use of GEMI materials and reviews publications as they are developed. The Committee also focuses on developing a simple, standard marketing plan for tools, and approves materials to be posted on the GEMI web site. An additional responsibility of the committee is the organization and oversight of partnering and participating in other organizations' conferences.

In recognition of the need to consolidate GEMI’s communication and education activities, the Board of Directors created the Communications and Marketing Committee. The mission of the Communications and Marketing Committee is to take a leadership role in partnering and participating in other organizations' conferences, to coordinate media and communication support of GEMI via speaker’s bureaus, conference displays, press releases, articles in trade publications and the GEMI web site as well as the organization’s tools and reports. In addition, the Committee oversees the monthly newsletter for members, GEMI NEWS and the web site.

Activities of the Communications and Marketing Committee have provided committee and project leaders with the opportunity to communicate to a wide range of audiences and allow the corporate participants to discuss the role that their companies have played with regard to those issues. Articles about GEMI activities have appeared in Business and the Environment (BATE), ECOSTATES, Financial Times, Greenbiz, Green@Work, Occupational Hazards and Sustainable Development International (SDI).

When Work Groups complete a tool, there is a strategic rollout process that can be utilized to share information about tools and reports with a wide range of global stakeholders. The rollout activities reflect well on the project leaders as well as the entire GEMI membership.

Senior Advisory Council (SAC) Committee is comprised of the Vice Presidents or the most senior environment, health and safety / sustainability representative of GEMI member companies. The SAC meets annually and assists in the development of future GEMI project topics and activities.

GEMI uses a broad array of resources to identify issues that should be addressed by the membership. The SAC is the primary source through which leading EHS and CSR issues are identified. Comprised of the Vice Presidents or the most senior environment, health and safety representatives of the GEMI member companies, the SAC meets annually to review GEMI’s progress and to identify issues or activities that are of specific interest to their companies. In addition, the GEMI Board of Directors and Membership help identify issues that should be the focus of a project or benchmarking survey.

GEMI has developed a database of several hundred organizations, NGOs and environmental organizations with which GEMI shares information, Work Group products and press releases.

Increased attention for GEMI member companies through the distribution of Work Group products and press releases to key organizations and media contacts around the world.

GEMI's Membership Development Committee implements a strategic membership development plan, targeting environmentally responsible U.S. and non-U.S.-based companies.

GEMI has developed a strategic membership plan, reached out to the membership to support that plan and consistently focused on identifying companies who wanted to work with companies that are leaders in EHS & CSR. The strategic plan also addresses the needs of existing members to ensure that each year they will renew their membership in the organization. In addition, he developed a special plan to reach out to GEMI’s newest members so that they will feel welcome and understand how GEMI gets its work done. GEMI’s membership base allows GEMI to pursue a wide range of activities that are administered in a cost-effective manner. As a result, a GEMI membership produces value far beyond the annual contribution to the organization.

• The Board of Directors continues to emphasize the importance of a member-driven organization that includes all members into the day-to-day activities of the organization.

• GEMI members host the membership meetings, which has resulted in a significant increase in attendance. The meetings and the GEMI Forum Days are designed as intensive learning sessions that will provide participants the ability to move their EHS program to the next level.  Forum participants will leave the session with a personalized improvement roadmap that they can apply within their organization.  The Forum sessions are designed to build upon one another throughout the year.  In addition, there are benchmarking exercises and the opportunity to dialogue with peers from many business sectors during the meetings.

Despite the continuing fiscal challenges facing corporations, GEMI continues to grow and prosper. Each new member brings fresh ideas to the organization.

New members are consistently being brought into the Board of Directors as well as into leadership positions in the GEMI committees, networks and work groups.

GEMI’s financial position is very strong. The continued growth in the number of GEMI members has allowed the organization to hold its annual dues at $20,000 for several years without sacrificing the service to its members.

Beyond all of the activities, benefits and values that have been described above, there is one key reason why GEMI has achieved a level of success. The membership of this organization is committed to environment, health and safety and corporate citizenship. By working together and learning from each other, the GEMI members are finding how they can do their jobs better and in a way that provides value to their companies and the environment.

In summary, there are a number of reasons to join and maintain a membership in GEMI, including:

The opportunity to work with many of the world’s leading companies in developing and promoting the very best in global EHS and CSR strategies and performance through the development of tools that can be applied around the world in a cost-effective manner.

The ability to share in the cost savings and derive the benefits from benchmarking in order to enhance the capabilities of EHS professionals.

A way to continually improve your company’s cost-effective service and EHS performance with the knowledge gained through interaction and networking with peers.

We hope that this information is helpful to you. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at 202-296-7449 or info@gemi.org.