Kelvin Roth
Nominated for: Lifetime Achievement Award
Title: Vice President, Environmental, Health, Safety, and Quality
Company: CF Industries
Years in Profession: 35
Nominator: Kerry Labourdette, Sustainability & EHS Analyst, CF Industries, direct report of Kelvin.
Provide an overview of the nominee's 20-plus years of professional experience, including previous management positions held, current role, and key accomplishments. (500 words max.)*
Kelvin Roth has worked tirelessly in all areas of environmental, health, safety, and quality (EHSQ) over his 35 years of experience within the industry, with expertise in the implementation of EHS management systems, auditing and compliance services, risk management, product stewardship, sustainability and community relations. During his career, he has led multi-generational teams of EHS professionals – both in industry and consulting. Prior to CF, he was the Director of EHS at AMCOL International for over a decade. Upon joining CF as Director of EHS, Kelvin catapulted the EHS group forward, by: (1) creating and rolling out the Wilson Safety Award within his first year, (2) facilitating the creation of an internal EHSS Management Manual to house internal policies and set expectations beyond regulatory compliance for the sites, (3) promoting the development of our internal EHS Councils and best practice teams on operation-specific safety, and (4) being integral in the transition to a consolidated EHS Management Information System (EMIS) in 2017. In 2019, he was promoted to Vice President, Environmental, Health, Safety, and Quality. As his team and responsibilities have grown, he continues to take on new challenges in stride.
Please list a minimum of two examples that demonstrate the nominee's distinguished service and leadership within the fields of environment, health, safety and/or sustainability at the corporate management level. Examples may include: Company or industry-related recognition and awards, board appointments, publications, public speaking engagements, and relevant service or volunteer positions. (500 words max.)*
Kelvin brought his record of successfully developing and leading “best in class” EHS programs to various roles at NAEM, working with the organization to better position it to meet the challenges of the future. Kelvin served as President of NAEM from 2009-2012 and First Vice President from 2007-2008. He is a past member of the NAEM Board of Directors and the Affiliates Council.
Kelvin has participated in NAEM conferences previously as a speaker, as well as with other trade associations CF participates in. In 2022, Kelvin took his internal championing of EHSQ one step further, by facilitating lunch and learns with various departments in the organization. Not only does this allow his team to grow their business intelligence and therefore be able to better understand how their role fits into the bigger picture, but it also fosters an open dialogue between his team and other departments to understand and promote EHSQ initiatives within the company.
Identify and define the nominee's impact on company performance. Outline pertinent EHS&S initiatives and/or programs. Provide measurement of impact through metrics or KPIs. (500 words max.)*
After joining CF in 2014, Kelvin immediately took their EHSQ program to new heights, rolling out the Wilson Award for Safety Excellence within his first year. This award engages operations across the company to share the impactful safety innovations and improvements they've made. This program rewards safety innovation within CF and is shared throughout CF's network and with industry peers. In addition to encouraging innovation, Kelvin’s focus on safety led to a decrease in CF’s recordable incident rate by over 70% from 2014 to 2022. While safety was already important to CF before, Kelvin made safety part of every conversation, senior leadership presentation, and communication (internal and external). His dedication to creating a robust and sustainable safety culture has had a lasting impact on the company.
In 2017, Kelvin was integral in the transition to a consolidated EHS Management Information System (EMIS) in order to allow consistency of reporting and trending of EHS data for decision making. The move to this new system allowed for efficiency improvements in the areas of audits/inspections, incident reporting, action item follow-up, and management of change (MOC) forms. With this new data, Kelvin, his team, and the sites are able to collaboratively create a monthly report for all areas of EHSQ, allowing insight to senior leadership on how the company is trending for the year and where attention should be focused.
Kelvin was a key part of the team that started CF’s sustainability journey in 2020, helping to develop ESG goals and targets that benefit CF’s workplaces, communities, and the environment. Not only does he value safety and sustainability at a personal level, Kelvin knows how to communicate how these two areas are critical to CF’s business strategy and longevity in the industry.
Describe the nominee's leadership style and provide examples of his/her commitment to advancing professionals within the EHS&S fields. (500 words max.)*
Kelvin's approach to EHSQ ensures that CF, and the industry organizations he actively participates in, continues to not only be compliant, but always be looking toward the future and continuously improving. He values thought leadership at all levels and encourages employees, within his direct team or at the sites, to be a change maker within their sphere of influence. Kelvin’s honesty and direct approach allow for greater transparency when getting feedback, allowing everyone to use that feedback constructively and efficiently. He also solicits feedback around his own actions to ensure he is fostering a safe and collaborative work environment.
With his own team, Kelvin has encouraged growing the EHSQ story beyond compliance. Often times, EHS professionals are associated with being bearers of bad news or have a negative perception of “policing” the sites. However, Kelvin has supported his team members’ ambitions to create EHS celebrations each year, to make EHS just as much about positive reinforcement as it is about accountability. He brings his enthusiasm to the planning teams, promoting and connecting team leaders with other members of the company as needed, for EHS celebrations focused on Earth Day, Safety Month, and Process Safety Week (a CF created holiday/celebration).
Kelvin actively participates in numerous trade associations and associated taskforces such as, but not limited to: International Fertilizer Association (IFA), Hydrogen Council, The Fertilizer Institute (TFI), and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). If he is unable to participate or feels he isn’t the best area expert, he promotes his team or other members of the company to participate, allowing that team member’s own influence and network to grow.
Provide two examples of nominee's commitment to industry advancements and lifelong learning. Examples may include: Continuing education, corporate or university teaching, patents, strategic initiatives, breakthrough program development, and other definable actions. (500 words max.)*
Kelvin was a key member on the advisory team that helped inform and develop the Mission Possible Partnership’s “Making Net-Zero Ammonia Possible” report in 2022. This group works to develop strategies to reduce high GHG intensive industries’ footprint and help them work toward a net-zero goal aligned with a 1.5C transition strategy. Kelvin’s impact on the group allowed the report to have practical operational knowledge and ensure technical details about the industry were being accounted for accurately and reasonably. Reports which account for realistic application in the industry they’re evaluating, due to the diligence of the advisory team, have great value; they become usable pieces of the puzzle toward working toward a more sustainable future.
Kelvin was also a key member in the publication of the Systemiq and International Fertilizer Association’s “Reducing Emissions from Fertilizer Use Report” in 2022. Like most companies, Scope 3 emissions are always difficult to calculate and control as they are indirect emissions. For the fertilizer industry, developing a strategy to reduce emissions from fertilizer application on farm poses a great challenge. This report, with heavy input from Kelvin and other members of the CF team, began to create a strategy and path forward for reducing these emissions without creating unintended consequences, such as a loss in food security.