Hazardous chemicals are detrimental to the environment. In China last week sulphuric acid leaked into the water supply from a chemical factory, poisoning at least 26 villagers, illustrating just how dangerous chemicals can be.
China has a bad track record. It has some of the most chemically polluted cities in the world, following decades of massive industrial and economic growth.
In South Africa, where rapid development is taking place, industries are urged to watch their chemical footprint.
Chemical safety is imperative and acknowledging best practice is vital to encourage improved levels of safety. This is why the Greening the Future Awards recognises chemical safety every year.
The chemical safety award is sponsored by the Chemical and Allied Industries’ Association (CAIA), the South African custodian of Responsible Care.
Responsible Care is an international chemical industry programme that operates in 42 countries and aims to get industries to clean up their act. It promotes continuous improvement in health, safety and environmental performance.
Companies that are committed to the programme sign a formal, public pledge that requires them to: operate in a manner that minimises negative environmental impacts; communicate with neighbours, customers and the public on their activities; promote the principles of sustainable development; provide information about their products; and continually seek to improve their knowledge and performance with regard to health, safety and environment efforts.
The CAIA implemented the Responsible Care programme in South Africa in 1994. The initiative has grown considerably and now boasts 132 signatories from 185 member companies.
Liz van der Merwe, the CAIA Responsible Care manager, says signatories benefit through the guidance documents provided by the CAIA, as well as constant feedback on international and local best practice and safety interventions.
“We run three workshops a year on topics that are of interest or concern to our members,” she said.
“The quantitative indicators reported to the CAIA annually are things like: how many people do you employ? How many accidents have you had? How many casualties have you had? How much waste do you produce? How much toxic waste do you produce? How much electricity do you use? How much water do you use? How much gas do you use? Things that can measure the performance of an industry.”
The CAIA also rewards chemical health, safety and environmental excellence with its own Responsible Care award, which is based on improvements shown in the quantitative data collected annually from members.