From Scorecards to Strategy: Inside SOCMA’s 2026 Sustainability & Safety Workshop

How customer expectations, data, and communication are reshaping sustainability and safety

April 20, 2026

SOCMA’s 2026 Sustainability & Safety Workshop, held April 14–16 at Rockwell Automation in Milwaukee, WI, brought together industry leaders, EHS professionals, and sustainability practitioners for three days of practical learning, peer exchange, and forward-looking discussion.

This year’s program reflected a clear shift. Sustainability and safety are no longer separate conversations. They are increasingly managed together, often by the same teams, and driven by the same external pressures.

Day 1: Connection and Context

The workshop opened with attendee arrivals, a welcome and safety briefing, and a three-stop facility tour of Rockwell Automation’s CxC3, ChemLab, and Otto Lab.

The tour offered a firsthand look at advanced technologies and operational practices, grounding the workshop in real-world applications from the start.

The evening continued with a networking reception and dinner, giving attendees time to connect, share challenges, and set the stage for the sessions ahead.

Day 2: From Customer Expectations to Implementation

Day two followed a clear progression, moving from external drivers to practical implementation.

The morning opened with a global regulatory overview, setting the broader context for sustainability requirements across regions.

This was followed by a session on customer supplier scorecards, which made one thing clear: Customer expectations are becoming a primary driver of sustainability activity. Companies are increasingly being asked to provide consistent, comparable data, often before they feel fully prepared.

Rockwell Automation then shared its sustainability journey, offering a real-world perspective on how these pressures translate into internal action.

From there, sessions shifted into execution.

The “Doing More With Less” session highlighted how companies are leveraging tools like life cycle assessment (LCA) to support multiple needs, from product carbon footprinting to broader sustainability planning, without overextending resources.

The interactive session on supplier sustainability response packages focused on how companies are organizing and responding to increasing customer data requests, particularly around product-level information and carbon impacts.

In the afternoon, the collaborative workshop on GHG implementation focused on Scope 3 and product carbon footprinting. A key theme emerged: Companies are moving from high-level estimates toward more detailed, activity-based data, while continuing to navigate challenges around data quality, supplier engagement, and prioritization.

“The hands-on focus on GHG implementation and operational sustainability made this especially valuable.”

Muhammad Qasim, Global Process Safety Leader, Baker Hughes

The toolbox session brought the conversation down to the operational level, with companies sharing practical projects, from energy efficiency to material reuse, that are delivering measurable results today.

The day concluded with a closing panel on customer-driven sustainability, which tied the sessions together. The discussion reinforced a central takeaway: For many companies, sustainability efforts are no longer internally defined. They are shaped directly by customer demands, often starting with scorecards and evolving into a broader strategy.

Laura Kuri Benavides, Director of Sustainability and Marketing at Integrity BioChem, who both presented and participated in the panel, emphasized the value of peer exchange, calling it “a wonderful day, great to share our approach and learn from others navigating similar challenges.”

Day 3: Communication, Safety, and Stakeholder Engagement

The final day focused on an essential but often underappreciated component of both sustainability and safety: communication.

Opening sessions introduced how clear, consistent communication supports not just incident response, but everyday operations, stakeholder alignment, and long-term trust.

Discussions on shifting the sustainability conversation explored how companies can better identify and engage stakeholders, tailoring messages to different audiences, from regulators to local communities.

Sessions on safety beyond the fenceline expanded this idea, emphasizing the importance of transparency, relationship-building, and proactive engagement with the communities where facilities operate.

Throughout the day, interactive exercises and breakout discussions gave attendees practical tools to strengthen how they communicate, whether responding to an issue, sharing sustainability progress, or aligning internally across teams.

A key takeaway was clear: Strong programs do not stand on performance alone. They depend on how clearly that performance is communicated and understood.

Key Takeaways

Across the agenda, several themes consistently stood out:

  • Sustainability is becoming more customer-driven, requiring better data and transparency
  • Practical implementation matters more than theory
  • Internal alignment—especially with commercial teams—is critical
  • Communication and storytelling are essential to building trust and credibility
  • Safety and sustainability are deeply interconnected

Looking Ahead

The 2026 workshop made one thing clear: the conversation is shifting.

Sustainability is moving from high-level commitments to detailed, customer-driven requirements—and from standalone initiatives to integrated operational and communication strategies.

Companies that can align data, operations, and communication will be best positioned to meet evolving expectations and drive meaningful progress.

We extend our sincere thanks to our speakers, attendees, sponsors, and our host, Rockwell Automation, for making this event a success.

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