Dubai - MENA Herald: With sustainability being an increasingly important aspect of corporate responsibility, the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) today initiated the inaugural Responsible Care Conference, to demonstrate the level of commitment the industry has made towards sustainability.
The GPCA will use the event as a platform to launch its first integrated 2014-15 Responsible Care and Sustainability Report. The report presents the industry’s Responsible Care performance metrics and program highlights, and showcases key sustainability information and case studies, with statistics covering 24 member companies and 18 affiliates.
Dr. Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, Secretary General, GPCA, said: “Responsible Care has played an essential role in helping GPCA to shape its sustainability agenda, which in turn has allowed us, through our members, to contribute more successfully to the overall sustainability of the region. The GPCA is committed to encouraging higher standards and the adoption of international best practices, and by reporting our progress we are able to set benchmarks to propel the continued growth of this aspect of our sector.”
Responsible Care is the global chemical industry’s commitment to sustainability, focused on, amongst other initiatives, proactively supporting safe chemicals management, influencing business partners to promote the safe management of chemicals within their own operations, and contributing to sustainability through improved performance. The GPCA committed to Responsible Care in 2009, unifying its members under a strategic direction for sustainable progress.
Over the last four decades, the Arabian Gulf region’s chemical industry has developed into a business that was valued at over US$115 billion in 2014, helping create jobs for more than half a million people. The industry itself employs over 130,000 people – more than half of whom are in Saudi Arabia – and generates around three times that number of indirect job opportunities along the value chain. The industry has maintained high nationalization rates of 50% since 2012.
From an environmental perspective, carbon dioxide (CO2) intensity and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are the latest metrics that GPCA member companies have started reporting on as part of the Responsible Care program. Both measurements show a positive downward trend over the last 2 years. The sector also achieved reductions in energy consumption per ton of product by 8%.
How to improve health, safety, security and environmental practices in the sector will be a key focus in the Responsible Care Conference. The annual conference will take a multidisciplinary approach to Responsible Care, with input from top executives working in the petrochemicals industry, government, public policy, intergovernmental organizations and sustainability.
The Responsible Care Conference will conclude on October 13, 2015.
For more information, please visit www.gpcaresponsiblecare.com.