I am a seasoned EHS & Sustainability Executive with more than three decades of leadership across process industries, manufacturing operations, and industrial services. My career has spanned chemicals, metals, glass, automotive, aerospace, industrial materials, electronics, and occupational health services, giving me a rare breadth of expertise in high-risk, high-performance environments.
My mission is clear: to drive sustainability excellence that protects people, the planet, and profitability. I have consistently delivered results by building and leading high-impact teams that are people-savvy, detail-oriented, and systems-focused. This approach has enabled me to advance sustainable business models that integrate operational excellence with EHS and sustainability priorities.
I hold both the Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) designations, underscoring my technical depth in industrial safety, hazardous materials management, regulatory compliance, and risk mitigation. Throughout my career, I have led at the highest levels within globally recognized organizations—including Fortune 500 companies—where I have influenced strategy and execution across multiple regions and cultures.
My professional journey has afforded me unusually deep exposure to the organizational, cultural, and technical dimensions that drive long-term EHS and sustainability success. From global chemical operations to advanced manufacturing and industrial healthcare services, I have repeatedly guided organizations through transformational improvements in performance, compliance, and culture.
This work has taken me across the globe, with significant leadership experience in Mexico, Canada, Europe, Brazil, Malaysia, Australia, and the United States. In every region, I have applied a consistent philosophy: align sustainability with business strategy, empower local leaders, and create systems that ensure performance is resilient and repeatable.
Currently, I serve as Senior Director of Global EHS – Operations at a leading global producer of specialty chemicals, adhesives, and performance materials. In this role, I am responsible for advancing a global EHS strategy across a complex manufacturing footprint, reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer. My work integrates sustainability priorities with operational excellence, ensuring that our performance is not only compliant but also future-ready and value-generating.
Beyond corporate leadership, I am deeply engaged in advancing the profession. I have served for decades as an Executive Volunteer Leader with the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), where I currently chair the Executive Safety Forum and contribute to the AI Taskforce shaping the future of safety and work. I also serve as a Board Member and Executive Advisor for organizations driving progress in sustainability, technology, and EHS innovation.
My leadership philosophy is rooted in the belief that great teams achieve great outcomes. By fostering collaboration, leveraging data-driven decision-making, and integrating sustainability into the core of business strategy, I have helped organizations deliver strong results while protecting their people, communities, and long-term enterprise value.
Throughout my career, I have been recognized for my ability to connect strategy to execution, ensuring that sustainability and EHS are not seen as compliance functions but as critical enablers of operational performance and business resilience. Whether guiding global chemical production facilities, introducing cutting-edge safety systems in aerospace and automotive manufacturing, or advancing occupational health and ergonomics programs, I have consistently sought to raise the bar for what organizations can achieve.
Ultimately, my work is about creating sustainable systems that last—systems that protect people, safeguard the environment, and strengthen business competitiveness. I thrive at the intersection of technical expertise, organizational leadership, and strategic vision, helping businesses chart a course where sustainability and performance are inseparable.
You can learn more about my professional life at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/chetbrandon. Follow me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/#!/ChetBrandon1
I am available as a consultant to assist you and your organization in maximizing your performance in the areas of EHS, Sustainability and Leadership Development. Those with interest should contact me via email at: chet.brandon@leadingehs.com or by phone: 316.650.9583.
Overview of Professional Services:
- Board of Director level Executive Advisor
- Keynote speaking on occupational safety and health along with general leadership topics
- EHS professional career coaching and job search assistance
- EHS Technical Services
- High hazard process evaluation and risk reduction strategy development (Examples: Combustible Dust, Molten Materials, Overhead Lifting Equip)
- EHS training and team development programs
- General EHS project work such as audits, inspections, compliance assurance and program development
- EHS executive leadership coaching
About this Blog
I have a couple comments on format to make you aware of. The main page posts are intended to be short explorations of new ideas or old ideas reconsidered. I will start the posts with a description of the idea then transition to how it could be applied. These are high level discussions meant to prime your thought process for application to your own situation. The second type of post is a more in depth discussion of a particularly promising idea in the Environmental, Health, Safety or Sustainability areas. These will be on the specific tabs for those aspects of our function.
Comment on the use of AI: Yes, I use AI (LLMs in particular), to varying extents, to assist in the creation of posts in this blog. The ideas are mine but I often research them through AI tools and continue to adjust the output until I obtain the exact information, tone and flow that my professional judgement finds to hit the mark for the purpose of my post.
I started this page as a place to develop and communicate fresh ideas regarding EHS and Sustainability Leadership and Innovation. This is my professional workshop where I tinker with new and existing concepts in hopes of creating something new and wonderful. It’s a work in progress… Let’s see where it takes us!
– Chet
Ideas and opinions expressed here are not those of my employer.
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