June 14, 2004 American Chemistry Council  

Chemical Industrty:  Legistlation Needed To Ensure All U.S. Chemical Facilities Working To Harden Facilities
Statement From Tom Reilly, President & CEO
http://www.accnewsmedia.com/docs/2000/1970.doc?DocTypeID=4&TrackID

Recent media reports have underscored the urgency of securing one of the most critical parts of this country's infrastructure, the chemical sector.  While not top of mind for most Americans, chemical products are essential to the American way of life, as they are used to make everything from safe drinking water and computer chips to critical components for fighter aircraft and health-giving pharmaceuticals. Chemical makers employ more than one million people in high-paying manufacturing jobs and export more products than any other industry.  

It's logical for Americans to ask, "What's being done to protect these essential products, the men and women who work at chemical facilities, and their neighbors from terrorist attack?"  The members of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) - representing about 90% of America's basic industrial chemical production - spent more than $800 million just last year to make their communities, facilities, and products more secure.   

Following 9/11, and without waiting for government direction, ACC members imposed on themselves a mandatory, comprehensive security program -- ACC's Responsible Care® Security Code.  As a result, all 2040 ACC member facilities have completed rigorous security vulnerability assessments; the highest priority facilities have completed security enhancements, and all others are on schedule to complete enhancements by year's end.  ACC's Security Code has been acknowledged by Secretary Ridge as a benchmark industry security program, and has been recognized in differing ways by the United States Coast Guard, the City of Baltimore and the states of Maryland and New Jersey.  And ACC members have partnered with federal and state agencies, law enforcement, and first responders to increase security for this critical sector of our economy.  

Even with all this progress, more work lies ahead and security lapses at chemical facilities are unacceptable. ACC believes the U.S. Department of Homeland Security must have the authority to require security plans across the entire sector.  Given reports from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of heightened concerns about the potential for terrorist attack in the upcoming months, we are proud of the significant progress we have already made to enhance the security of our facilities.   

That's why ACC has been pushing the Administration and both parties in Congress to put aside their differences and enact meaningful federal legislation that will require all chemical facilities to address security as rigorously as do our members.  We urge them to act quickly before time runs out in this Congress.

  The American Chemistry Council (ACC) represents the leading companies engaged in the business of chemistry. ACC members apply the science of chemistry to make innovative products and services that make people's lives better, healthier and safer. ACC is committed to improved environmental, health and safety performance through Responsible Care, common sense advocacy designed to address major public policy issues, and health and environmental research and product testing. The business of chemistry is a $460 billion enterprise and a key element of the nation's economy. It is the nation's largest exporter, accounting for ten cents out of every dollar in U.S. exports. Chemistry companies invest more in research and development than any other business sector.  Safety and security have always been primary concerns of ACC members, and they have intensified their efforts, working closely with government agencies to improve security and to defend against any threat to the nation's critical infrastructure.  

June 5, 2002 ACC

Chemical Industry Commits to Mandatory Enhanced Security
http://www.accnewsmedia.com/docs/200/131.doc?DocTypeID=4&TrackID=

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) today made enhanced security activities mandatory for its members, to help assure the public that all member facilities are involved in making their neighbors and America more secure. The ACC Board today approved a new Security Code under Responsible Care®, the industry's award-winning initiative for improving performance, that consists of increased specific commitments to further safeguard chemical operations from potential terrorist attacks.

For almost 15 years, the Responsible Care® initiative has helped employees in the business of chemistry continuously improve the safety of their workplace, leading to a greater sense of confidence among employees and their families, as well as neighbors in their communities. Since September 11, the chemical industry has consulted and/or partnered with the Office of Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency, the FBI, the Defense Department, the Coast Guard, Sandia National Laboratories, state and local governmental authorities, and others to bring the full force of the nation's security expertise together with the industry's scientific, technological and management skills.

"We can be proud that the chemical industry has moved swiftly to adopt a Security Code that is designed to make America more secure by safeguarding our plants, property, products and information from terrorist or criminal attack and sabotage," said Michael E. Campbell, chairman and CEO of Arch Chemicals, Inc. and chairman of ACC's Board Committee on Responsible CareR. "The U.S. chemical industry has achieved impressive progress in improving both employee and public safety, but in this post September 11 world, we have extended these capabilities to address newer security concerns. Both industry and government are making an unprecedented commitment to protect the homeland from those who seek to harm us," said Campbell.

Members of ACC have already begun to prioritize their sites and will assess the security at those sites. The prioritization process will be completed by mid-June. Sites will be prioritized into one of four tiers based on risk. Companies will then assess the security at their sites based on this prioritization. They also will assess the security from the supplier to the manufacturer and all the way down to the retailer and customer as well as their cyber networks.

Once companies implement the security measures identified in the assessment, independent third parties will verify that the physical site security measures have been implemented. Companies will have systems in place to assure continuous improvement. When assessing the security of sites, companies will use the methodologies being developed either by the independent Sandia National Laboratories or by the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS), or an equivalent approach.

"In the wake of terrorist attacks against our way of life, chemistry has played an essential role in our nation's first line of defense against terrorism," said Fred Webber, ACC president and CEO. "From the disinfectants and antibiotics used to protect against potential biological warfare agents, to the bulletproof and flame-resistant fibers used to make the helmets and flak jackets that protect our troops in the field and our firefighters at home, to the microprocessors that give the technological intelligence edge to our security forces here and abroad, chemistry is a vital part of our military and public safety operations," said Webber.

The American Chemistry Council represents the leading companies engaged in the business of chemistry. Council members apply the science of chemistry to make innovative products and services that make people's lives better, healthier and safer. The Council is committed to improved environmental, health and safety performance through Responsible Care, common sense advocacy designed to address major public policy issues, and health and environmental research and product testing. The business of chemistry is a $450 billion enterprise and a key element of the nation's economy. It is the nation's largest exporter, accounting for ten cents out of every dollar in U.S. exports. Chemistry companies invest more in research and development than any other business sector.

2004/7/6 The Chemical Industries Association(UK)

CIA publishes first sustainable development principles & goals
http://www.cia.org.uk/cgi-bin/dbman/db.cgi?db=news2&uid=default&view_records=1&ID=420&ww=1

The Chemical Industries Association today (6 July 2004) announced the publication of its “Guiding principles for sustainable business practice” and integrated “Goals for sustainable development” of the chemical industry. “We believe the goals are a world ‘First’”, said CIA President, Alistair Steel.

There are goals for productivity, social diversity, employability of staff, energy efficiency, water use and waste production, as well as occupational health and safety and a raft of sub-goals that, together, make up a bold commitment to reduce the chemical industry’s “environmental burden”.

Speaking to CIA member companies, gathered in Manchester today for the industry’s annual Awards Dinner, Alistair Steel said, “We have to meet society’s expectations as well as its material needs”. According to the new guiding principles, these expectations include: fairness, respect for people and communities; a working environment free from discrimination; openness; compliance with legal requirements and voluntary codes of practice; productivity and resource efficiency; safe products and operations and innovation “to satisfy customer needs”.

Steel emphasised that the industry was totally committed to protecting health and safety, and minimising the industry’s environmental impact. “These are noble, humane and enlightened aims. They are worth doing for their own sakes.

“The industry’s good performance in these areas is already a matter of record. However, we also know stakeholders now expect to hear how we will progress with this while also addressing their concerns about product risks and acknowledging our more general obligations to society. This is what our sustainable development strategy is all about. We have to show we care about people, not just products, not just profits”, he added.

Steel emphasised that the CIA regards the guiding principles and goals as the start of a process and not the end of it. The CIA had delivered on its promise, made in January 2003, to publish sustainable development goals by mid-2004, and now wants stakeholders to scrutinise the industry’s activities and behaviours and help “determine how we can meet society’s needs and expectations ever more sustainably in the future. I want them all to look at our guiding principles and goals as a whole, and to judge us on our genuinely heart-felt ambitions.”

Notes to Editors:

1    Copies of the brochure announcing the CIA’s “Vision for a sustainable chemical industry”, its “Guiding principles for sustainable business practice” and “Goals for sustainable development” of the chemical industry are available from the CIA Bookshop http://www.cia.org.uk/bookshop/system/index.html

2    The vision, guiding principles and goals were developed with the help of stakeholders and CIA members. The views of some of these are recorded on the attached memorandum.

3    A programme of support for CIA members is being initiated, with a “starter kit” for each goal, the sharing of best practice and the recording of case studies of how individual companies have tackled individual guiding principles and goals successfully. A national seminar on 30 November will focus on “interpretation, implementation and communication”.

4    The business case for pursuing this strategy is, the CIA says, that sustainable development will make the industry more competitive and attractive to investment capital because it will become more productive, safer and create less waste and pollution, use all resources more efficiently, have a strongly motivated, highly skilled workforce and be less exposed to costly and damaging reputation risks attributable to SHE incidents and unethical business practices. Sustainable development, the CIA says, is heavily favoured by government and if its members embrace it properly, it will, they believe, help earn a better reputation for the industry and be the basis on which the UK and EU governments might eventually be able to justify a more proportionate touch on the regulatory levers.

5    In order to be able to realise these benefits, CIA members are being urged to endorse the guiding principles, as required, before the end of 2005 and have regard to the spirit as well as the letter of their commitment, “wherever they do business”.

6    A longer extract from Alistair Steel’s awards dinner speech, and a photograph, are available on request.

7    The chemical industry in the UK employs 230,000 highly skilled people nationwide, and accounts for 2% of Gross Domestic Product and 10% of manufacturing industry’s gross value added. It invests over £2 billion annually, representing 14% of total manufacturing investment, with a further £3.5 billion being spent on R&D. It is the UK’s top manufacturing export earner, with an annual trade surplus of nearly £5 billion on sales of £33 billion, of which £29 billion is accounted for by exports, with a large proportion going to other countries in the European Union.