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About Us

OUR HISTORY

Sarah Sajedi and Gary Vegh cofounded ERA in 1995 after spotting a gap in how various manufacturers were accounting for and reporting their environmental footprints.

Read about the beginnings of our software and go through a detailed timeline of our accomplishments below!

28 YEARS AGO...

Our cofounders decided to automate the environmental consulting practices they had put in place a year prior by starting a robust software system to facilitate how manufacturers measured and tracked their emissions, waste, chemicals, and other vital parts of their footprints.
 
They envisioned a faster, more accurate way to address environmental tracking, a strategic decision that turned ERA into one of the very first Environmental Management Software developers on the market... and, ultimately, one of North America's most respected EHS software providers.
About-Us_where-everything-began

AT THE START...

There being no widespread Internet access in 1995, ERA's software began as a desktop application called REGMET—REGulatory Material Emissions Tracking—that generated numerous VOC and HAP emissions reports for the wood furniture, kitchen cabinet, and wood building industries.

 

After an initial period of success in the United States, Sarah and Gary moved the company to Canada in 2002 and migrated the tool to a more accessible cloud-based software that could also generate Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and help maintain compliance with Health and Safety regulations. This marked the beginning of ERA's Coating Environmental Regulatory Tracking Information System (CERTIS), itself the foundation of our Master Chemical List (MCL).

SINCE THEN...

ERA began servicing the automotive industry in 2008, when Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada became a client. This opened the door for more specialized modules and industry partnerships, leading to the inception of the Storage Tanks, Sustainability, and Compliance modules (to name a few) and conferences across northern United States and Canada (such as ERA's Ingenuity at Work events, hosted in Montreal!).

Presently, ERA has grown into a well-oiled machine that handles all kinds of regulatory reports, including TRI, NPRI, Tier II, NEI, Biennial Hazardous Waste, and OSHA reports, and works with Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies across 30 industries, ranging from automotive and aerospace to oil & gas and paints & coatings.

We continue to expand our software offer by improving all existing modules and helping companies venture into new sustainability practices and artificial intelligence solutions.

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Highlights Over the Years

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Alliance with University of Waterloo Begins

Thanks to Prof. Shang's move to University of Waterloo, ERA enters a working partnership with a second academic institution.

2023
About Us_WEBSITE

ERA Website Gets a New Look

After twelve years of the old template, ERA revamps its website to a more dynamic and contemporary look.

2023
About Us_AWARDS

Three-Time Award Winners Crowned

ERA wins Corporate Vision's AI Awards, Sustainable Business of the Year at the Canadian SME National Business Awards, and the Gold trophy at the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service (Technology Industries Category).

2022
About Us_CONCORDIA

3rd ERA-Concordia Project Starts

ERA and Prof. Shang's team launch a second partnership, this time with the goal of automating regression testing using Selenium and Jenkins. 

2022
About Us_WAST MINI

Industry Leadership Affirmed

Sarah Sajedi and Gary Vegh present in front of the House of Commons, ERA begins its Waste Minimization Project alongside John Bradburn, and AI Mogul, ERA's research arm, is founded.

2021
About Us_CONCORDIA_1

2nd ERA-Concordia Project Starts

ERA joins forces with Concordia Professor Tse-Hsun (Peter) Chen for the predictive analysis of Big Data and anomaly detection using AI technology.

2020
SDS-on-demand-dashboard

SDS on Demand Unveiled

SMEs and clients with limited SDS Authoring needs now have short-term contracting and flexible pricing options.

2020
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More Conferences Take Place

ERA hosts the Consulting Partnership Conference in Montreal and attends the Waste Conference in Detroit, MI, to showcase its Waste Management and Container Tracking solutions.

2019
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ERA-Concordia Partnership Founded

A joint project between ERA and Professor Weiyi (Ian) Shang of Concordia University aimed at locating the root causes of performance regression in ERA systems marks the inception of a long-standing relationship.
2018
About Us_OFFICE

ERA Offices Move to Technoparc Montreal

ERA settles into its brand-new offices at 7200 Rue Frederick Banting, where it is currently based. The inauguration is swiftly followed by the Suppliers Partnership Q3 meeting, where ERA acts as the host.
2018
About Us_CONFERENCE_1

Ingenuity at Work: Philadelphia Edition

The second edition of ERA's Ingenuity at Work Conference takes place in Philadelphia, PA, and sees the development of the Sustainability module and new TRI, Tier II, GHG, NETDMR, and other vital reports.

2017
About Us_CONFERENCE

Ingenuity at Work: Charlotte Edition

ERA returns to its home state of North Carolina for the first ever Ingenuity at Work Conference.

2016
About Us_ERA UNIVERSITY-1

ERA University Launched

ERA begins offering online courses and help files designed to train clients (and new employees) on the use of the software, for free!

2015
About Us_TANKS

Storage Tanks Module Created

Clients benefit from the emissions tracking capabilities of Storage Tanks software.

2014
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Dynamic Platform Developed

The advanced Dynamic Platform for data collection is released alongside ERA's Business Process Management (BPM) and Process Safety Management (PSM) modules and mobile application.

2014
About Us_CLOUD SERVER

Third-Party Hosting Services Enlisted

ERA enlists the help of Azure and Cogeco and undergoes the transition from locally-hosted cloud services to third-party cloud-hosted SaaS.

2013
About Us_FIRST AUTO CLIENT

First Automotive Client Acquired

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) becomes the first of many automotive clients relying on ERA for environmental reporting.

2008
About Us_WEB BASE

Web-based Software Era Kicks Off

As Internet access expands, ERA migrates its desktop application to a web-based software, starting with the H&S Incidents module the following year.

2004
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New Infrastructure Put in Place

With a $5 million investment, construction begins on ERA's Canadian offices, which include a server room built to provide own hosting services.

2003
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Canadian Chapter Gets Underway

ERA opens its Canadian office in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

2002
About Us_FIRST OFFICE

First Office Opens

Sarah Sajedi and Gary Vegh purchase ERA's first office in the Raleigh-Durham area, NC.

1998
About Us_CERTIS

SDS Authoring Takes Off

Vendors Akzo Nobel and Chemcraft International request CERTIS SDS Authoring initiation services. ERA starts serving their distributors.

1998
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REGMET Created

Working alongside North Carolina State University's School of Engineering, ERA releases a first version of the software called REGMET—a desktop application for REGulatory Material Emissions Tracking—in December of 1995.

1995
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April 27th, 1995

Co-CEOs Sarah Sajedi and Gary Vegh establish ERA Environmental Consulting, Inc. in North Carolina, USA

1995