Fecc: ICCTA goes for global reach

Fecc’s annual meeting in Athens will herald a new future for ICCTA as it focuses on a wider geographic spread and promotion of best practices

Peter Skou, president of the International Council of Chemical Trade Associations (ICCTA), has had a busy 12 months. Since last year’s Fecc Annual Meeting in Rome, Italy, Skou – who is also managing director of specialty chemical distributor R2 Group – has been visiting as many of ICCTA’s stakeholders as possible.

His mission? To gain feedback and input from ICCTA’s 21 national and regional trade associations spread across Europe (16) and the Americas (4), as well as one in China.

“There has been a positive reaction from most parties so far to the mission that we gave out after the May meeting,” Skou comments. “In general terms, there is a green light from the federations, including Fecc and NACD [the National Association of Chemical Distributors] in the US, to make a new ICCTA and proceed with most of our missions and objectives.”

The primary aim is for ICCTA to become a global entity, or at least representing four or five world regions, within a “reasonable timeframe”. Skou is hopeful that, after the 2015 Fecc congress in Athens, Greece, he can approach potential new members with a revised set of statutes, a management board and a permanent office, plus agreed objectives and goals.

REVISED STATUTES FOR ICCTA
“I am six months behind where I would like to have been but this is the first shake-up of ICCTA since it was established in 1991,” Skou comments. He says the first objective at the Fecc Annual Meeting in Athens is for ICCTA’s steering committee to approve the revised statutes, paving the way for the organisation to proceed with its strategic actions.

A next step will be for ICCTA to reside in a permanent office. The location has yet to be decided but it will be in the EU.

ICCTA will also need to appoint a board of members. Skou is unsure at the moment how many members will be required, but hopes there will be enough in place to represent each region of the world. He will be proposing board members at the Athens meeting and 
expects they will be in place “reasonably quickly” afterwards.

Part of ICCTA’s strategy will revolve around Responsible Care, Responsible Distribution and sustainability, notes Skou, who comments: “We will work on the detail but, if we want to do it on a global scale, it has to be broad enough for everybody to grasp.”

He realises this may be a difficult and complex task given that so many different cultures and interests will have to be taken into 
account. Yet, he remains in optimistic mood and says: “At least we are further ahead than we have been for many years.”

It is Skou’s belief that a lot of the principles and practices encompassed under the Responsible Care and Responsible Distribution programmes in Europe and the US, respectively, are still not practised correctly. He is also very keen for ICCTA and it members to communicate and promote the importance of sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR).

He would like ICCTA, as part of its strategy, to have its own agreed point of view and message on Responsible Care, Responsible Distribution and sustainability, one that it can communicate both inside and outside the industry.

CLOSER COOPERATION WITH ICCA
Closer collaboration with the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) remains of prime importance too. Skou wants to work with ICCA to further lift the profile of the distribution and trading industries and facilitate the sharing of best practice globally. The two associations already cooperate regularly on safety, health and environment (SHE) and other key issues facing their members.

The drive to widen the adoption of third-party verification (TPV) under the European Single Assessment Document (ESAD) remains a challenge as well as a priority for both ICCTA and Fecc. Acceptance has been much slower than liked for Skou who nevertheless believes there are still possibilities for TPV to be taken more seriously among colleagues and other federations moving forwards.

Skou’s overriding ambition for ICCTA is that it becomes a truly global association representing the interests of the chemical distribution industry. He is adamant that a global approach and forum is the only way forward as the industry seeks opportunities for growth in overseas markets.

“The game is changing. We are all looking for markets where there is growth potential, such as the Middle East and Africa. The US is booming and Asia, although not as strong as it was, is still growing at a rate of 7-8% per year,” Skou notes. “We have to invest outside Europe and that is why ICCTA is beneficial,” he concludes.