CEFIC, the European Chemicals Industry Council, is pushing for chemical manufacturing and supply to focus on safe use rather than on individual substances.
Executive director for product stewardship of CEFIC Peter Smith made this statement at a recent visit from Sinopec, the China Petrochemical Corporation.
Smith said it was in both Europe and China’s interests to have a strong chemical industry globally that is trusted by society.
The meeting was to share the European industry’s experiences in safe chemicals handling. China’s petrochemicals industry is expanding rapidly and Sinopec was keen to learn from its European counterpart.
Sinopec is conducting a research project to propose new systems for evaluating technical and management measures for the Chinese chemical industry and is set to propose scientific measures to the government safeguarding the industry’s reputation for safety, reliability and environmentally friendliness.
As well as exchanging views on safe chemical handling, the two bodies discussed views on the priorities of the global chemical industry council the ICCA, which could potentially bring the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation in as a full member.
As well as safety, CEFIC is deeply concerned about being sustainable. In July, the organisation released a report informing members of its plans to become a carbon neutral industry by 2050.
‘Low Carbon Energy And Feedstock For The European Chemical Industry’ – which is the name of the report – stated the chemical industry’s ambition is to play a leading role in the transformation of the European economy to low-carbon, creating innovative climate friendly solutions for its processes through chemical products.