We’ve been talking a lot lately about how to build a strong business case for your new digital EHS software. Now, it all comes down to the pitch—the moment all your preparation either pays off or flops.

Even the best business case can fail without full organizational buy-in. Your success depends on how well you tailor your case to the people around the table—finance, IT, operations, HR, and executive leadership.

This guide breaks down how to secure support from every corner of your organization so your EHS software investment gets the green light.

1. Get your EHS tool on the leadership agenda 

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again—the safety of your workers might be your top priority, but senior management focuses on performance metrics and cost savings. To get their attention, you need to speak their language and find an angle that appeals to them. Luckily, you share common ground: compliance—and the costly risks that come with it

Many CEOs see the EHS team’s main role as keeping the company in line with regulations. And that’s no small feat! You’re dealing with a list of regulations that’s constantly growing and changing, across multiple levels—local, regional, national, and even international.

This complexity makes the risk of non-compliance, and the costs that come with it, much higher. So, you need to show how software can help manage compliance. Here’s how:

• List of all the EHS regulations your company currently needs to follow, plus the costs of non-compliance. For example, in the U.S., the EPA can impose fines of $37,500 per day for violations of the Clean Air Act.

• Show how the EHS regulatory landscape is always changing and keeping up is tough. According to Enhesa, compliance demands have jumped by 35% since 2019.

• Quantify the risk. Use your company’s own data (near-misses, past fines, or time spent on manual audits) to demonstrate exposure and opportunity for improvement.

Pro tip: Lead with compliance, but finish with efficiency. When leadership sees that EHS software can reduce risk and cut operational costs, they’ll start to view it as a smart investment, not an expense.

2. Show your CFO the money 

To catch your CFO’s attention, you’ve got to make the financial benefits of your chosen EHS software crystal clear. Here’s how:

• CFOs often cite productivity as the top benefit of workplace safety systems, so show how EHS software can automate repetitive administrative tasks to free up your team. 2

• Calculate how much time your team currently spends on manual EHS tasks and convert that into annual savings.

• If your company is juggling multiple licenses, maintenance contracts, and system fees, that’s money that could be better spent in a consolidated system. Highlight the costs of these systems to show how a unified EHS software can eliminate these redundancies.

• Fewer incidents mean fewer claims. Demonstrate how better tracking and preventive measures through software can lower your company’s insurance premiums and workers’ compensation expenses.

• EHS incidents often lead to costly shutdowns. Knowing exactly what downtime costs your company and comparing it to the cost of EHS software can provide a powerful argument for investment. If you don’t have a recent example, look to industry cases. For instance, a fatal accident on the Maersk Interceptor shut down an oil field for six days, costing stakeholders $4.5 million in lost production. In contrast, the average cost of EHS software is $200,000.

Want to go deeper? Read our blog, How to Demonstrate the ROI of Your New EHS Software, for a step-by-step guide to calculating return on investment. 

3. Make your EHS goals part of the CEO’s vision 

Just like the CFO, your CEO cares about financial metrics, however, they are also guardians of the overall corporate strategy. They’re focused on long-term growth, resilience, and sustainability. They care about results that strengthen the business, and not just today, but five years from now.

Here’s how to position your EHS software as a strategic enabler:

• Tie it to digital transformation. Show how EHS software enhances transparency, standardization, and data-driven decisions across global sites.
• Connect it to sustainability. Many CEOs now have public sustainability targets, such as net zero by 2050 or broader ESG and CSR commitments. So, show how EHS software can help meet these targets.
• Focus on resilience. A connected, digital EHS system reduces risk exposure and helps the business recover faster when issues occur.

Pro tip: Use the CEO’s own words. Pull a quote from your company’s sustainability or annual report and directly link your EHS software to that goal.

4. Bring IT in early

If anyone can make or break your rollout, it’s your IT team. They’ll help you make sure your EHS software integrates smoothly into your existing systems and meets all security standards.

Don’t wait until decisions are already made, ask the right questions early to keep everything aligned from day one:

• How do we evaluate and approve new software?
• What are our cybersecurity, hosting, and data protection requirements?
• How well do our current systems talk to each other—and where are the gaps?
• What’s the roadmap for upcoming IT changes?
• Who’s responsible for maintaining and supporting the software after go-live?

Bringing IT on board early helps you avoid roadblocks later. You’ll move faster, make smarter choices, and show leadership that your EHS software rollout is built to last.

5. Win over HR and union reps 

Focusing on the financial benefits of digital EHS software is crucial for your business case. But let’s not forget the human element—worker safety and well-being are climbing higher on the corporate priority list. Tapping into this angle can win the support of HR and union reps. Here’s how you can make it count:

• Show impact on well-being. Surveys show that 75% of workers rank feeling safe at work as a top priority. A stronger EHS system improves confidence and engagement
• Demonstrate training benefits. Digital tools make certification tracking and refresher training effortless.
• Involve unions early by showing that EHS software will directly improve working conditions. Their opinion can carry a lot of weight with senior leadership.

Pro tip: Use employee feedback to your advantage. If surveys show safety concerns or training gaps, use those insights to demonstrate how EHS software directly addresses them.

Final tips on securing buy-in for your new EHS tool

You don’t have to do this alone. Find champions across departments—operations, legal, or sustainability—who see the value that EHS software brings to their daily work. When you can show that EHS software benefits multiple teams, it shifts the narrative from “your project” to “our solution.”

Ready for the pitch?

By weaving in these elements, you’re not just presenting a business case—you’re telling a story that resonates on both a financial and human level. And that’s the kind of pitch that’s hard to ignore.

Before you pitch, download our EHS Business Case Guide to check that your pitch is airtight. You’ll find ROI templates, objection-handling strategies, and ready-to-use data points to strengthen your pitch.