6. Continuously improving performance through Responsible Care®

Commitment to and faithful implementation of the Responsible Care program—a global industry performance initiative to help safeguard employees, the environment and neighboring communities—is a condition of full WCC membership. By promoting continuous improvement in environmental, health and safety (Eh&S) performance and open communication about all achievements, this provides a natural link to sustainable development. Responsible Care has been adopted in countries representing 76% of chlorine production; efforts continue to extend it to WCC corresponding members and all other producers, which remains a major challenge for the future.

Top | Back To Index

WCC programs and activities

• Stewardship workshops—WCC offers workshops on environmental, health, and safety issues for chlor-alkali producers around the globe. With a focus on developing countries and countries with economies in transition, workshops have been held in Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Russia and Southeast Asia. WCC was a keynote speaker at the 2004 Asia Chlor-Alkali Conference. Through these events, WCC reached companies accounting for some 37% of global production and 90% of producers outside of North American, Western Europe, and Japan.
• Development of best practices—WCC is working with the United Nations Environment Programme to develop guidance on best available techniques (BAT) and best environmental practices (BEP) for processes involving chlorine. These are designed to minimize formation and release of unintentional by-products and provide guidance for the environmentally sound management of wastes. Euro Chlor has also worked extensively on similar guidance for the European Union.
• Industry policies/positions—WCC has developed industry positions on key issues, such as management of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances (PBTs), management of unintentionally produced persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and management of endof-life mercury cells and decommissioned mercury. These policies will help promote Eh&S improvements and responsible application of chlorine chemistry.

Top | Back To Index

Recognizing growth in China

Due to the growing importance of China’s chlor-alkali industry, a conference on China Chlor-Alkali Industry Sustainability was held in Beijing (April 2006). Jointly sponsored by WCC, the Global vinyl Council, the Chinese Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association and the Chinese Chlor-alkali Association, this was attended by 120 experts. Sessions covered:

• key regulatory and policy issues facing global and Chinese chlor-alkali and PVC industries
• Sustainable development for the chlor-alkali and PVC industries
• Safety, environmental and health issues, covering best environmental practices and best available techniques from around the world.

Top | Back To Index

Reducing the industry’s environmental footprint

Although there remain opportunities for further progress in future, industry can point to reductions in environmental releases from chlor-alkali processes. In the U.S., there have been decreases in environmental levels of PBTs and POPs. In the first four years of dioxin reporting to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory, dioxin releases to air and water by the chlorine sector declined by 70%. A combination of government regulation and technology innovation has reduced dioxin emissions by the chlorine sector and downstream industries. Since Toxics Release Inventory reporting began in 1988, U.S. chlorine industry emissions of 16 chlorinated compounds have declined by 83%, even as chlorine production increased. In addition, levels of dioxin in food—which account for 95% of human exposure to dioxin—have been cut in half over the past seven years in the U.S.

In Europe, Euro Chlor has collected data on emissions to air and water for 22 chlorinated substances since 1985. This data includes all the chlorinated products in the European Pollutant Emission Register (EPER) list and several others. Between 1985 and 2005 there was a 93.6% reduction in the total tonnage released to air and 99.5% in that released to water. A target of a 50% reduction to air and 75% to water has been set for 2010 compared to a 2001 baseline. Euro Chlor companies have also gathered data on emissions of mercury from their operations since 1977. A voluntary target of 1.0 gram of mercury per metric tonne (g hg/t) of mercury cell capacity was set in 1998 to be reached on a national basis by 2007. The participating countries were initially those in Western Europe. Efforts are now being made to extend this to countries that joined the EU in 2004. Data for 2005—including Eastern and Western European plants—show that emissions dropped from 1.09 to 1.05 g hg/t chlorine capacity, with Western plants’ average now less than one g hg/t capacity. Brazilian chlor-alkali producers remain firmly committed to reducing use of mercury and asbestos in production technologies. The industry associations, Clorosur and Abiclor, spearheaded an initiative to raise awareness of the need to minimize emissions of POPs among other industry sectors—such as aluminum, pulp and paper, and steel—and their advocacy has resulted in the launch of a National Industry Confederation program. The stewardship ethic of the Responsible Care program continues to provide a firm foundation for sustainability in the chlor-alkali industry around the world.

Top | Back To Index

Responsible investment index recognizes Responsible Care®

In June 2006, fTSE4Good, a Responsible Investment Index calculated by the fTSE Group, recognized the requirements of Responsible Care as helping companies fulfill many of the fTSE4Good environmental inclusion criteria. To be included, companies need to meet relevant criteria in areas of environmental sustainability, upholding human rights and stakeholder relations. Over 30 American Chemistry Council members and Responsible Care partner companies are currently listed on fTSE4Good.

Top | Back To Index

Hazardous chemical safety management project

To enhance safety performance in Chinese chemical enterprises, The Dow Chemical Company and the China State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) agreed to a three-year (2006-08) safety management project for hazardous chemicals. Nineteen small and medium size enterprises chosen to pilot the project in the first year are applying Dow’s safety management concepts and methods while building their standardized safety management systems. They have increased safety-related investment in areas including staff training, risk assessments to improve production facility safety, increasing product safety control, improving hazard communication, and heightening awareness of their responsibility to the public. To guide the safety management work in Chinese chlor-alkali enterprises, technicians and experts are using the Chlorine Institute’s chlorine safety management manual, as well as Dow’s safety management methods. A Dow Process Safety leader led a training session on safe chlorine production and storage, and relevant U.S. statutes for emergency plans, emergency evacuation processes, elements of emergency response plans, and incident simulation.

Top | Back To Index

Chemistry and nature project

Solvay Indupa (Brazil) created a chemistry and nature project in 1997 to help stimulate debate on sustainability among elementary schools and other communities near the company’s chlorine plant in the city of Santo André (including Rio Grande da Serra, Ribeirão Pires and Paranapiacaba, in the Greater São Paulo area). This region includes many low-income families in an area of rapid urban growth, and faces significant social and environmental challenges. The project developed sustainability teaching materials, using accessible, age-appropriate formats such as comic books, cartoons and games. From 2003, the project also invested in teacher education and other initiatives such as a Clube Escola-Cidadã (Citizen-School Club), where students, teachers and parents from two schools meet community leaders and other residents to discuss social and environmental issues. Solvay provides meeting space and educational materials. Each approved Clube project receives funding; activities have included environmental remediation of streams, community vegetable gardens, selective waste collection, planting of trees in public areas, a local cultural festival, and professional courses for district cleaning teams. To date, some 30,000 students, teachers and community leaders have taken part.

Top | Back To Index | Next