Industry environmental stewardship

The book is intended for a primary audience comprised of professionals in the chemical industries, including those designated managers in business, research, and development, operations, health, safety and environment, security, and sustainable development. Yet, managers from other industries in the value chain of chemical companies will benefit from this text. Future decision-makers, such as students, are provided with a framework with which to lead in a world where social and environmental stewardship skills are just as important as technical, financial or marketing skills. 

Although Responsible Care raised the bar and provided a common framework for chemical companies on environmental stewardship, a large (and possibly growing) gap exists between leaders and laggards within the industry on sustainability. 

Environmental stewardship is no longer the isolated policy or domain of any one stake holder. Imiwoved consultation is vital, both sectorially and between national and EC level interests. Shared re nsibilities, particularly in areas such as safety and other environmental issues will require reaching out to create even greater links between the worlds of industry, academia and government. 

DuPont de Nemours has established itself as a major supplier of engineering thermoplastics in Europe. As environmental considerations become increasingly important, DuPont is aiming to place itself as a leader of environmental change. In 1988, the chairman, Edgar Woolard, called for "corporate environmentalism" in industry. This he defined as "an attitude and performance commitment that places corporate environmental stewardship fully in line with public desires and expectations." A company aiming at overall excellence must show that it is prepared to go beyond compliance and participate in the forefront of development. 

It is eqnally simplistic to argue that since economic growth means using resources, we should slow down growth to conserve the resomces. It is after all the communities with more disposable income that are able to practice environmental stewardship at the needed level. Innovations that wonld save the day are likely to come from industry looking for better ways to produce and market energy. 

But, continuing improvements by the plastics industry to use less of the resources and to develop lower-polluting technologies are important because of their obvious environmental merit. Also, these efforts communicate the industry position on the environmental stewardship unequivocally to the user community. 

This track record of environmental leadership by the US carpet industry has set the stage for the next phase of product stewardship - end-of-life recovery. Since most carpet components are derived from crude oil, this is the next logical area of focus. With over 2 million tonnes of old carpet going to the landfill each year, and that amount growing by approximately 2 to 3% per year, there is tremendous raw material and fuel value potential available. Details of the US carpet industry environmental accomplishments over the last decade can be found in the annual Sustainability Report issued by The Carpet and Rug Institute aud may be downloaded athttp //www.carpet-rug.com/pdf word docs/03 CRI-Sustainability-Report.pdf... 

This flare reduction applications in this petrochemical industry provided good environmental stewardship and conservation of valuable resources with excellent project payback. There are numerous advantages to flare gas recovery including improved public relations, reduced plant fuel gas consumption and reduced greenhouse gas emissions from the facility reducing the CO2 emissions by a minimum of 67%. 

Operational Excellence (OE) Operational Excellence (OE) is an element of organizational leadership that stresses the application of a variety of principles, systems, and tools toward the sustainable improvement and industry leading performance of the organization, which can be measured by key performance indicators. The process involves focusing on customer needs, keeping employees positive and empowered and continuous improvement of activities in the workplace, while adhering to the highest standards for Safety, Health, and Environmental Stewardship in a Cost-Effective and Profitable maimer. 

The concept of Product Stewardship in the polyurethanes industry is discussed, as one of the six elements of the Responsible Care programme used by companies. A Product Stewardship programme is said to demonstrate commitment to Responsible Care and ensures health, safety and environmental protection through active assessment of products throughout their life cycle from... 

The Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative (SDSI) addressed key environmental, economic, and product development issues in the surfactant world to drive change, especially in the cleaning products industry. Many companies were aware of the concerns for NPEs and with the growing number of alternatives that could offer equivalency in function and cost. Some had proactively switched to safer surfactants. 

Success stories of the implementation of P2 in industries pave the way for more organizations to try P2 options and undertake changes and demonstrate environmental commitment and responsible stewardship. 

Process design product stewardship is discussed in the CER, particularly in respect to life-cycle assessments for titanium tetrachloride and converting wastes to co-products for use in the food industry. There are also a number of examples that indicated that Tioxide improved processes to reduce environmental impact. These include ... 

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