SPECIAL REPORT

Together for sustainability (TfS) sum m it in M um bai

Indian chemical industry pledges support towards

building a sustainable supply chain
INDUSTRY stalwarts from 19 companies of the Indian
chemical industry, recently came together forthe together for
Sustainability (TfS) summit in Mumbai. Organized atthe Grand
Hyatt, the summit built awareness around the importance of
creating a sustainable supply chain in the chemical Industry,
and saw participation from over 500 representatives from
suppliers and TfS member companies as well as local and
international associations, international audit companies and
experts. The attendees pledged their commitment towards
creating sustainable supply chains in the chemical industry.
The event featured presentations from key executives of
participating companies as well as industry bodies like
Confederation of Indian Industry (Cll), Indian Chemical
Council (ICC). Senior leaders also came together for a media
panel discussion around the theme of "Charting a sustainable
ecosystem in the Indian chemical industry". The attending
panelists agreed on the critical need of developing and
implementing the global audit program to assess and improve
sustainability practices w ithin the chemical industry in India.
At an exclusive panel discussion for the media moderated
by Mr. Vishvesh Prabhakar, Managing Director, Sustainability,
at Accenture's Strategy Consulting practice, leaders of the
chemical industry across the globe, shared their experiences as
well as voicing their concern in the pursuit towards sustainable
working system.
Dr. Raman Ramachandran, Chairman and Managing
Director, BASF India Ltd., and Head, South Asia, BASF,
emphasized on the importance of sustainability as a part of the
industry's mid and long term goals. He urged the industry to
lead the thought process in sustainability, lest someone else
drives it. He revealed that BASF is set to turn all its
manufacturing units energy efficient by 2020. "The transition a
company takes towards sustainability isn't easy. They have its
own short term impact, we always have a bucket of products,
which challenge us sustainably. We either develop that
product on the sustainable front or we scrap the product and
that in itself is an internal struggle,'' said Mr. Ramachandran.
Regulators are also demanding that the industry be more
transparent, including through real-time monitoring and
reporting of effluents generated in their manufacturing plants,
he added.

At the Together for Sustainability summit in Mumbai. Dr. Jacques Perez - Vice Chairman, CFO and Managing Director at Lanxess India Pvt. Ltd.,
Rudiger Eberhard - Chief Procurement Officer- Evonik and President - Together for Sustainability, Ajay Durrani - Country President and Managing
Director, Indian Subcontinent - Covestro; Deepak Parikh - CEO & Managing Director - Clariant India, Region President - Middle East, Africa, India
-Clariant International, Richard van der Merwe - Vice Chairman & Managing Director and CEO, Bayer CropScience, India, Dr. Raman
Ramachandran - Chairman and Managing Director, BASF India Ltd., and Head, BASF South Asia.

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SPECIAL REPORT
M r. R ichard van d e r M e rw e , V ic e C h a irm a n , M a n a g in g
D ire c to r and CEO, Bayer C ropS cience In dia , said the c h e m ica l
in d u s try sh o u ld a pproach s u s ta in a b ility on a m ore h o lis tic
nature, w h e re in social su s ta in a b ility also plays a huge role. He
o u tlin e d Bayer's efforts to e lim in a te c h ild la b o u rfro m its seeds
business as a goo d e xa m p le o f h o w a c o m p a n y to o k on a
p ro b le m n o t o f its o w n d o in g . "C h ild la b o u r was in te n s iv e ly
used in seed p ro d u c tio n in d u s try and even th o u g h it w a s n 't
Bayer's re s p o n s ib ility w e m et the farm ers and persuaded th em
to stop c h ild lab ou r. A fte r o v e r 11 years o f th is p ro je c t, w e can
say th a t w e have a ch ie ve d o u r goal, in a tim e w h e re c h ild
la b o u r is a lm o st 100% e x tin c t," he said.s
D r. D eepak Parikh, CEO & M a n a g in g D ire c to r, C la ria n t
In d ia Ltd. stated th a t "S u s ta in a b ility is at th e co re o f o u r
in n o v a tio n strategy. Leveraging and d e v e lo p in g c h e m is try fo r
th e p ro d u cts and services needed fo r to d a y and the fu tu re is
th e goal o f su sta in a b ility. "H e gave an e x a m p le o f the
'E c o ta in ' range o f su stain ab ly p ro d u cts th a t C la ria n t is n o w
o ffe rin g to custom ers across d iffe re n t industries. The p ro d u c t
q u a lific a tio n fo r th is label is far m o re rig id th an d em a n d e d by
m a n y su sta in a b ility ind ices, he a dded. The G o v e rn m e n t to
"re w a rd the goo d a ctors," e nco urag e co m p a n ie s th a t use b io ­
resources, and e n fo rce rules fo r n o n -c o m p lia n c e in a n on -
d is c rim in a to ry and strict m an ne r, he urged.
M r. Jacques Perez, VC , M a n a g in g D ire c to r & C h ie f
F in a n cia l O ffic e r (CFO), LANXESS In d ia Pvt. Ltd., g iv in g his
v ie w p o in t said th a t "S u s ta in a b ility c a n n o t be addressed as a
sta nd alo ne in itia tiv e by one o rg a n iz a tio n , it sh o u ld
c o m b in e d e ffo rt in the w o rk to w a rd s s u s ta in a b ility. This
s h o u ld be a m ore lo n g te rm a pp ro ach and it is b o u n d it take its
tim e ". H e urged th e G o v e rn m e n t o f In d ia to fo cus on
u p g ra d a tio n o f tra n sp o rta tio n in fra stru ctu re , as it im pacts
su s ta in a b ility , and e n fo rce c o m p lia n c e to re g u la tio n across the
b oa rd . "A s part o f o u r sustainable business p la n , Sewage w a te r
tre a tm e n t is im p le m e n te d across o u r p la n t in M a d h ya Pradesh
to m ake sewage w a te r fit fo r use. Since, th is in itia tiv e has been
a ctive , w a te r w h ic h w e used fo r o n e ye ar is n o w used fo r 8
ye ars," he said.
M r. A ja y D u rra n i, C o u n try President & M a n a g in g D ire c to r,
In dia n S u b co n tin e n t, C ovestro, stressed on th e im p o rta n c e o f
RM su pp lie rs w h o w o u ld w o rk to w a rd s m e e tin g C ovestro's
su s ta in a b ility c rite ria and w o u ld a b le to p a rticip a te in its
g ro w th . The co m p a n y, he a dded, is c o m m itte d to e n a b lin g this
happen by m a kin g its e xpe rtise a v a ila b le to ve n d o rs and the
b ro a d e r ind ustry. "W e are b rin g in g in experts on phosge na tion
te ch n o lo g ie s, fo r e xa m p le , to assist the loca l in d u s try in
u p g ra d in g its s k ills , d e s p ite h a v in g no phosgene
m a n u fa ctu rin g in In d ia ." H e also q u o te d e xam ples o f the 2 00
134 O paintindia O O C T O B E R 2016
m etre blades th a t had been d e v e lo p e d by fo r w in d
energy.
M r. R uediger Eberhard, President, TfS, and H ead, G lo b a l
P ro curem en t, E vonik, urged In dia n c h e m ic a l c o m p a n ie s keen
to d o in te rn a tio n a l business to use the services o f TfS no m atter
at w h a t stage o f th e s u s ta in a b ility jo u rn e y th e y are in so as to be
ahead in business.
Panelists also reiterated the p ro spe ct o f a c o m b in e d e ffo rt b y the
w h o le in d u s try to w a rd s sustainable in n o v a tio n and have urged
the G o v e rn m e n t o f In d ia to c o n tin u e the steps th a t it has taken
to w a rd s a sustainable business plan.
Founded in 2 0 1 1 , TfS AISBL is a jo in t in itia tiv e o f c h e m ic a l
c o m p a n ie s fo r sustainable s u p p ly chains, to d e v e lo p and
im p le m e n t a g lo b a l pro gram to assess, a u d it and im p ro v e
s u s ta in a b ility practices w ith in th e s u p p ly ch ains o f the
c h e m ic a l ind ustry.
TfS' fo rm a l lau nch in In d ia com es at a tim e w h e n th e Indian
C h e m ica l in d u s try is rated 6th in the W o rld and 3rd in A sia in
va lu e added term s at co nsta nt prices. In d ia is at the cusp o f
b e c o m in g the m a n u fa c tu rin g h u b fo r th e w o rld w ith
g o v e rn m e n t s u p p o rt and in itia tiv e s lik e M a ke in In dia . Business
a c tiv itie s o f a ll o rg a n iza tio n s are thus b e c o m in g m o re g lo b a l
and s u p p ly chains m o re c o m p le x . C o n s id e rin g th e im p o rta n t
ro le p la yed b y c h e m ic a l in d u s try across sectors in c lu d in g
a u to m o b ile , p ha rm ace utica ls, te xtile s and even m a n u fa ctu rin g ,
a lig n in g w ith s u s ta in a b ility w ill h e lp the sector to d riv e
be
in n o v a tio n as w e ll as th e ir g ro w th e ng in e. It is here th a t the TfS
in itia tiv e leads b y e xa m p le in co rp o ra te re s p o n s ib ility th ro u g h
cre a tin g b en chm arks fo r sustainable s u p p ly chains.
Since its in itia tio n , th e s u s ta in a b ility p e rfo rm a n ce o f 4 ,6 0 0
su pp lie rs has been rated w ith in th e TfS in itia tiv e based on
EcoVadis assessments and 4 4 6 TfS aud its have been c o n d u cte d
g lo b a lly . The in itia tiv e plans to establish b en chm arks in the
s u p p ly ch ain that can c o v e r a ll th e p illa rs o f s u s ta in a b ility and
grant releva n t lon g-te rm gains b o th - to the c o m p a n ie s and to
th e ir su pp lie rs. In 2 0 1 5 , a to ta l o f 2 ,5 8 0 su sta in a b ility
assessments have been shared a m o n g TfS m em bers and 179
n e w TfS a u d it reports w e re rece ive d b y th e TfS in itia tiv e , in
In dia , 3 0 0 su pp lie rs have been assessed th ro u g h EcoVadis and
aud its at 28 sites have been c o n c lu d e d already.
Established in 2 0 1 1 , TFS is a jo in t in itia tiv e o f c h e m ic a l
co m p a n ie s to d e v e lo p and im p le m e n t s u s ta in a b ility practices
w ith in th e s u p p ly ch ains o f th e c h e m ic a l ind ustry. Since its
in itia tio n , the s u s ta in a b ility p e rfo rm a n ce o f 4 ,6 0 0 su p p lie rs has
been rated w ith in the TfS in itia tiv e and 4 4 6 TFS aud its have
been c o n d u cte d g lo b a lly . ■
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