Of course, many companies care deeply about the environment, but they may not have the tools they need to protect it properly.
This can undermine their social licence to operate, which essentially means social acceptance of a business’ activities and the impact it has on the community and the environment. Social licence is more than bare legal compliance; Sir Peter Gluckman, the former Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister, calls it “a permission granted by communities.”
Businesses can gain social licence by winning trust.
Imagine it from a community’s perspective—how do you decide whether to give a business permission to operate when its activities could have negative outcomes if they’re not managed properly? That’s a judgment call, and it comes down to a decision to trust the company to manage risk adequately. Communities make that kind of judgment when companies establish credibility by doing the right thing.
Water monitoring is one way that companies can do the right thing and gain community acceptance.
Companies using Phathom sensors can measure the turbidity and total suspended solids (TSS) of their water discharge, and see any changes happening in real-time. For example, if solids have been accidentally released due to an equipment failure, a Phathom instrument will show a spike in turbidity and TSS and alert operators that there’s an issue before the discharge becomes a major problem. This can help companies stay within their legal limits, like the conditions on their resource consents, which reinforces the trust they’ve already gained from being seen to invest in responsible environmental protection.
Phathom sensors are accurate, reliable, and robust, and because they’re low power they can be used in a wide variety of locations even on challenging sites.
Installing Phathom sensors can help businesses that are struggling to meet community expectations and maintain their social licence. It turns out that doing the right thing for the environment can be the right thing for business too.
