Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Sustainable Development AND The Chemical Industry: Purpose of Paper
Sustainable Development AND The Chemical Industry: Purpose of Paper
COUNCIL OF
CHEMICAL
ASSOCIATIONS
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
AND
THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
PURPOSE OF PAPER
State the global chemical industry view on the goal of Sustainable Development
Outline the global chemical industry's share of responsibility towards this goal
Identify the contributions of the industry to fulfill this responsibility, such as,
amongst others, its Responsible Care initiative
Establish the global chemical industry as a player who can bring solutions to the
issue.
The primary audiences for this paper are the decision takers dealing with Sustainable
Development at all levels (local, national, international) and the secondary audiences
could include other industries, environmental groups and other NGO's engaged in
Sustainable Development.
OUTLINE OF PAPER
Introduction
Contribution of the Chemical Industry to Sustainable Development
The Chemical Industry's Leadership in Innovation
The Chemical Industry's Approach to:-
The Economic Goal of Sustainable Development
The Environmental Goal of Sustainable Development
The Society-related Goal of Sustainable Development
The Policy Challenges
Criteria for Appraising Goals and Instruments
-oOo-
1
INTRODUCTION
The key finding of "Our Common Future", (the 1987 report of the United Nations' World
Commission on Environment and Development), is that environmental, economic and
social concerns must be integrated if the world's peoples are to advance and develop
without jeopardizing the natural environment on which all life depends. Although today
we cannot define the needs of future generations, the challenge for today's leaders is to
pursue policies that will leave available an array of choices for future generations to meet
their own needs.
Sustainable Development will only come about if three goals - economic, environmental
and society-related - can be reconciled. To determine the limits of acceptability and scope
for action requires a set of conventions which society at large accepts as valid.
The chemical industry views Sustainable Development as a challenge put before all parts
of society. In the advances made in its own operations, its improved performance and in
the improvements to the human condition made through its products, the chemical
industry sees cause for optimism and believes that Sustainable Development can be the
intellectual framework around which the chemical industry, other industries and other
sectors of society can reach consensus on how to improve living standards and the
environment.
These are challenges on a global scale. It follows, therefore, that the attainment of
Sustainable Development will call for action on the part of the people, governments,
businesses and organisations around the world. The global chemical industry has realized
this challenge.
The chemical industry is a key industry. Its products and services are instrumental in
meeting the needs of mankind. It is present in all areas of life, from food and clothing,
housing, communications, transport - right through to leisure activities. In addition, it
2
helps to solve the problems of other sectors of industry, such as the energy sector,
information technologies, environmental industries and the waste disposal sector, as
examples.
Due to its size, the chemical industry is an important supplier to a broad range of
downstream industries and is, as well, a customer of a broad range of products and
services from other industries. It follows, therefore, that the chemical industry plays a
major role in providing/ supporting performance improvements, research and
development progress and, last but not least, employment in other industries.
The global chemical industry believes that the key to improving the performance of the
industry is both its commitment to achieving environmentally sound Sustainable
Development and improved performance and transparency. Under the concept of
"Responsible Care", chemical companies are committed, in all aspects of safety, health
and protection of the environment, to seek continuous improvement in performance, to
educate all staff and work with customers and communities regarding product use and
overall operation. Through these efforts the industry is improving its efficiency, reducing
risks to health and the environment and making better products which, in turn, help
individual and industry customers.
The very notion of Sustainable Development will require new approaches in a number of
areas. Innovation at all levels and in all fields of activity is the most effective instrument
for ensuring that the economic, and environmental goals, as well as those of society, are
being advanced.
The chemical industry's contribution is to continue innovation of new products that meet
customer needs and manufacturing processes that reduce risks to health and the
environment. This contribution is based upon the knowledge and experience the industry
has acquired from applying innovation not only to making, handling and use of chemical
compounds, but also to reprocessing, recycling and solving environmental problems. The
3
challenge facing the chemical industry is to maximize innovation, which can contribute
to society meeting its goals for Sustainable Development.
The chemical industry is firmly convinced that leadership in innovation represents the
best way of attaining Sustainable Development. For the individual company, this means:
Wealth creation and profits are fundamental to Sustainable Development. They sustain
economies (not just the chemical industry), and contribute, via re-investment and R&D,
to new technologies and environmental improvements. Profits are needed to create
flexible company structures oriented towards economic, environmental and society-
related requirements.
4
The chemical industry is a major industrial sector and an essential contributor to welfare
and employment on a global scale. In order to maintain this position under the imperative
of Sustainable Development, the long-term future of the industry must be rooted in a
dynamic policy, whereby continual innovation and re-engineering of companies result in
an increase of productivity and, thus, keeping up international competitiveness as a pre-
requisite of sustainable job creation.
Whilst the chemical industry thus feels it has an important role to play in contributing to
the establishment of an appropriate economic framework, the power to decide this lies
with the regulators.
5
implementation. As well as ensuring an environmentally and economically sound
attitude towards scarce resources - and helping to husband those resources - the
policy also makes provision, as said, for the re-use of recycling of used substances
and products. The chemical industry is already working on these aspects in close
cooperation with its customers and consumer organisations.
Competitive access to energy is necessary to the chemical industry. Since the
reservoir of natural resources is finite, their proper management is a crucial pillar
of Sustainable Development. The chemical industry is contributing to this goal by
continuously reducing the environmental impact of its activities. Perhaps, more
importantly, the products of the chemical industry's innovation enable other
industries to use resources more efficiently with less environmental impact.
Current needs of society must be defined by society itself acting through the various
audiences involved, who will be affected by the definition, in a genuine process of
consensus-building. Public discussion can frequently tend to lack focus. What is needed
is a constructive form of debate within society. The chemical industry has to demonstrate
its willingness to be publicly responsible for its contribution to Sustainable Development.
The results of efforts to achieve consensus will be influenced to a significant extent by
the differences in the way the partners involved in the debate perceive the risks. Whether
these perceptions are "rational" or not, they need to be addressed. For this reason, the
chemical industry attaches considerable importance to environmental reporting and risk
communication and recognises that there is an urgent need to debate these issues openly
within society.
6
THE POLICY CHALLENGES
The chemical industry is convinced that advances along the path of Sustainable
Development are possible only in the context of a market economy and by way of a
collective learning process involving all members of society. The chemical industry
therefore calls for policies which guarantee the maintenance of the market economy
framework. Within this framework, the best means of attaining our goals is via a
combination of legislation, voluntary measures and market forces. Those who will be
directly affected must participate in the process, thereby guaranteeing that realistic targets
are set and that sufficient time is provided for their implementation.
Economic policies must create an environment conducive to structural change. There can
be no artificial propping up of economically outdated structures. The effects on the
distribution of incomes and on employment, however, must be given proper consideration
at the national level. Society must be given time to adjust to structural change.
Given the nature and importance of the problems, a "go-it-alone" national approach is not
enough. There should be no unilateral measures applied to achieve an environmental
objective outside one country's borders. We would therefore wish to see national policies
to foster Sustainable Development implemented in most countries worldwide. Countries
must strive for harmonization or, at least, convergence of environmental goals. This can
only be achieved through international cooperation.
The most important tasks of economic and social policies include the need to:
secure the framework for the market economy by discouraging state interventions
promote freedom and fairness in international trade
improve international competitiveness by
o facilitating restructuring of industries
o reducing burdens causing uncompetitive costs (labour, energy)
o fostering the scientific and technological base
promote rational regulatory and environmental policies based on sound science
whilst allowing voluntary approaches
develop a clear set of rules with predictable consequences in the long run.
Moreover, the structural change involved in the move towards Sustainable Development
calls for close cooperation within and between all major policy areas - i.e. measures must
7
be co-ordinated, non-contradictory and in line with the overall goals. Those responsible
for individual policy areas will need to set their own priorities accordingly.
The task of research and development policy should be to co-ordinate aims and focal
points for research. In future, the success of research and technology policies will to a
large degree depend on the extent to which a consensus can be arrived at between
innovative potential - whether it be that of companies, research institutes or universities -
and the concerns of the other groups and forces within society, and hence give impetus to
creative competition. In order to be successful, activities in these areas must be integrated
into a worldwide network of scientific and information exchange.
A fundamental prerequisite is agreement not only on the specific goals and the manner in
which they are to be attained through national policies, but also - and above all - on
international programmes and decision-making processes. However, it serves no purpose
to determine the means unless the end is also made clear - i.e. there is no point in
encouraging or supporting the use of specific instruments without defining beforehand
the goal one is seeking to reach.
Moreover, conflicts between different goals must be resolved before individual measures
can be put into effect. Given the complexity of the issues, it will be necessary to
undertake case-by-case studies of appropriate combinations of goals and measures.
The goals, methods and instruments must satisfy the following criteria:
The goals must be set realistically and should neither overestimate nor overstrain
the capabilities or absorption capacity of the system (practicability).
In an overall appraisal on the basis of economic, technical, environmental criteria
and social acceptability, the effort involved must be in proportion to the desired
result (proportionality).
The goals and measures must be designed in such a way that they can be tailored
to meet changes in requirements (flexibility).
8
There must be some provision for retracting certain goals or reversing individual
instruments, if new facts come to light or if they produce unintended adverse
effects (reversibility).
The goals and instruments must not run counter to the principle of equal treatment
nor, even more importantly, jeopardise equal opportunities in international
competition (competitive neutrality) and should be taken at the most appropriate
level.
The means and methods selected must comply with the laws of the market and not
interfere with fundamental rights. Therefore, there can be no alternative to responsible
action not only on the part of companies but also by the individual citizen within the
framework of the goals set by Governments.