Bayer official touts benefits of US environmental safety programme

11 October 2010 20:45  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--Members of the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) Responsible Care environmental stewardship programme are four times safer on average than the rest of the US manufacturing sector, an official with Bayer MaterialScience said on Monday.

Jerry MacCleary, a senior vice president at Bayer MaterialScience and steering committee chair of the ACC’s Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI), called on all companies in the chemical industry to embrace the Responsible Care standards.

“It may seem like a luxury in tough economic times, but let me point out a not-so-trivial side-benefit of the more proactive approach,” MacCleary said. “The companies who’ve embraced Responsible Care significantly outperform those who have not.”

MacCleary said members of the Responsible Care programme reduced process safety incidents by 51% and reportable distribution incidents by 43% over the past decade, even in the face of substantially increased production and shipments.

MacCleary spoke at the CPI’s 2010 Polyurethanes Technical Conference in Houston, which lasts through Wednesday.

In January, Bayer’s head of US operations Greg Babe began a three-year term as executive chair of the Responsible Care board committee.

The ACC established the programme in 1988 to focus on the areas of health, environment, safety and security.

Since the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, US chemical producers have invested nearly $8bn (€5.7bn) in security measures under the industry's Responsible Care security code, according to the ACC.

($1 = €0.71)

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By: Ben DuBose
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