In the Boardroom With...
Michael Penders
President
Environmental Security International
SecuritySolutionsWatch.com : You have been engaged by EPA, DOD, NATO, the
United Nations, and various critical infrastructure facilities. Please
give our audience a brief overview of your background and the company’s
history.
Michael Penders : I was a Prosecutor who came to direct international
investigations into environmental crimes, organized crime, and forms of
terrorism in the 1990s as Director of Legal Counsel for EPA’s Office of
Criminal Enforcement. As Chairman of the G8 Nations’ Law Enforcement Project
from 1998-2000, we developed systems approaches among nations and private
sector actors to detect illegal traffic in chemicals, hazardous materials
and wastes, or other shipments in international trade that violated laws
or might be pre-cursor to acts of terrorism.
By 2000, we had more requests from nations around the world for training,
law and policy development, and collaboration in the use of advanced technologies
than the government agencies I represented could respond to. ESI was formed
in part to address that growing international need, using experts with
substantial experience in investigations, management, security, and the
application of new technologies to detect trans-boundary crime.
Our principals’ work in these areas for decades while in government led
to an unusual network of experts in environmental management and security,
international law enforcement, and systems engineering. We now work with
this network of more than 100 individuals and firms around the world on
projects for private and public sector clients alike.
While at EPA, we also developed management system policy and standards
designed to detect and deter criminal acts (I served as a co-author of
EPA’s Audit Policy and Chairman of its Voluntary Disclosure Board). This
experience has been invaluable to our investigations and security audits,
systems design, and recent work in developing a new international standard
for Security Management Systems with a team of Israeli and US experts
brought together by the US/Israeli Science and Technology Foundation (USISTF).
Frankly, before September 11th, this security focused approach to management
systems and investigations led to more work abroad than in the US, particularly
regions with recent experience with environmental terrorism, such as Africa
and Italy. ESI was formed in the US in 2002 after new markets emerged
for vulnerability assessments, security focused management systems and
related technologies across North America, supported by federal grants.
ESI’s investigations, vulnerability assessments, and policy work in related
areas for DOD, NATO, Congress and other organizations inform the design
of our systems in ways that reduce risks, prevent liabilities, while saving
resources and costs.
SecuritySolutionsWatch.com : Security of our water supplies is a major
concern today. What are the services ESI provides in that market?
Michael Penders: ESI has conducted vulnerability assessments and designed
security management systems at water systems of all sizes. Often working
with former Secret Service, FBI, or EPA agents, as well as water and information
systems engineers, we specialize in designing management systems that
focus on detecting, preventing, and mitigating the consequences of deliberate
acts from within or outside a facility.
Using an integrated team approach allows us to make recommendations across
a full range of operations, including physical and information security,
as well as hazardous materials, environmental, health, safety, waste,
supply chain management, and emergency response. Often, there is low hanging
fruit in one or more of these areas that can be addressed with little
or no cost to reduce even high risk vulnerabilities. Also, efficiencies
realized by moving towards an integrated security management system have
saved hundreds of thousands of gallons of water a day at some facilities,
eliminated the need for permits at others, and reduced energy consumption
at many facilities by up to one/third.
SecuritySolutionsWatch.com : ESI has a number of strategic partnerships
such as with Electronic Warfare Associates (EWA) and Talon Executive Services,
Inc. ESI has recently announced agreements with Chemetica, Inc. and the
Israeli security firm Rotem. What services are provided with them?
Michael Penders: ESI has strategic relationships with firms whose core
expertise best compliments ours and provide the best services or technologies
in their respective fields. This allows ESI to keep its full time staff
and overhead small while enhancing our capacity to bring together the
best experts for a given project, focused on the industrial sector and
greatest vulnerabilities at a particular critical infrastructure facility,
such as a port or military base.
Recently, we have teamed with Chemetica, Inc., experts in process safety
engineering, and the Israeli government owned security firm Rotem, to
conduct a series of pilot projects implementing Security Management Systems
at critical infrastructure facilities in the US and Israel. In an exciting
development for our firms, and I think for the industry generally, we
have been awarded a series of grants from the US/Israeli Science and Technology
Foundation (USISTF) to test this concept in the field and further develop
an international standard for security management systems at petro-chemical
facilities, waste water treatment plants, and hospitals in Israel and
the U.S.
SecuritySolutionsWatch.com : Are there any success stories you would like
to talk about?
Michael Penders: Well, as usual in this industry, success stories are
under-reported and often cannot be reported at all. Failures, of course,
will always be front page news; so one measure for us is to keep our clients
out of the news, and quietly in compliance, if that is their goal.
Where recognition for security enhancements may be important for public
or government relations, regulatory considerations, or deterrence, we
can assist with communication strategies, and interface with the government
in a considered fashion. Because our principals have experience as lawyers
for government enforcement agencies on the state and federal level, we
offer structured communication to the government, public, and emergency
response and law enforcement communities as part of our services.
ESI has led investigations that resulted in the identification and apprehension
of terrorists that attacked drinking water supplies in Africa and threatened
those in Europe. Information about modes of attack inform the design of
our systems, where appropriate.
Also, we have conducted investigations into acts of industrial sabotage
and designed systems that have saved costs in the form of reduced consumption
of natural resources and labor, while enhancing security by minimizing
the amounts and time that hazardous materials and wastes are on site.
Adoption of these security management techniques by certain Fortune 50
corporation facilities has also resulted in eliminating permit and other
regulatory requirements, and the costs associated with those processes.
Clients have also received insurance and financial consideration for adopting
these systems, as well as national and international recognition, increasingly
important as a condition of international trade.
SecuritySolutionsWatch.com : Thank you for your time today, Michael, are
there any other topics you would like to cover?
Michael Penders: Just that over the last two years it has been a great
privilege to bring together leading experts from around the world to enhance
the security of critical infrastructure in both the private and public
sectors. Working in the field with true experts informs our approach in
training, systems design, policy and standards, while helping governments
and business move towards a model of “Strategic Sustainability.”
For further information:
Environmental Security International
1455 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
The Willard Office Building, Suite 100
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 349-4046
Website: Environmental
Security International
E-mail: info@esisecurity.com
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