The author emphasizes the responsibility that the chemical industry has with the planet, and invites to analyze proactive actions to improve the practices of the sector.
by Luis Ernesto Cañas Ramírez*
The environment is composed of a set of relationships that human beings establish with the physical, chemical, biological, social, economic, and cultural elements of the environment, which cause direct and indirect effects, in the short or long term, especially in living beings, and affect the quality of life of current and future generations.
Awareness about the preservation of the environment, or its rational and balanced transformation, is a daily attitude of life and has to do with the way we think about our relationship with the world.
In the chemical industry, this relationship with the environment usually translates into concern about the preventive safety of production and marketing processes. However, the challenge is to move towards a type of corporate social responsibility that allows us to think about how to ensure that the final products do not contaminate people, animals and the natural environment through proactive and integrative actions, inside and outside the company.
In this regard, Convention C170 of the International Labour Organization on the Safety of the Use of Chemicals at Work1 provides for care against the production, handling, storage, transport, disposal and treatment of wastes, and the emission of chemical products as well as the maintenance, repair and cleaning of equipment and containers used in the above processes, in order to maintain control of risks to the environment, health and safety.
The industry must control the damage caused by the different steps of the production and marketing chain, not only during manufacturing, which occurs from the door to the inside of our companies. It also involves activating the curiosity and creative potential we have to investigate new processes and formulations.
The proper use of new methodologies for the final disposal of waste and the establishment of alliances with local and regional stakeholders for better management of environmental impact is a challenge for environmentally responsible companies.
The chemical industry has begun a long road of awareness and search for technical alternatives, and they are investing in the study of new formulations in search of raw materials whose safety is fully guaranteed. An example of this is the interest in the production of water-based epoxy paints, polyurethanes, and paints for pavement demarcation. Although this involves a valuable effort, there is still a long way to go.
Aspects considered collateral to the production process, such as the final disposal of the paint containers that our customers receive, challenge us to think about alternatives that make us aware of the public responsibility we have towards the market seen in an integral way.
An idea that can generate changes in the way we relate to the environment and how our customers do with us, is the increase in the added value of our offer through the implementation of collaborative waste management systems such as the packaging of our products. There are socially and environmentally sustainable recycling experiences that are worth analyzing and replicating as successful experiences.
Entrepreneurs in the chemical industry have a public responsibility towards these and other aspects in order to lead the discussion on the environmental impact of our work, as well as to provide examples of good practices that guarantee the care of the environment. Awareness of the reduction and elimination of risks goes through the small good ideas that arise from interacting with colleagues, reading specialized literature on the subject, and socializing a sense of responsibility inside and outside the company.
Small ideas to start with tend to unleash the creativity of the agents involved in our field of action, from our workers to our customers: that is the way those of us who live and enjoy the trade of the chemical industry give our contribution to the planet.
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1. Entered into force on 4 November 1993, and ratified by Colombia on 6 September 1994.
* Luis Ernesto Cañas Ramírez is the manager of Project Advisors for the Chemical Industry, located in Bogotá, Colombia. For more information you can contact him at the email: [email protected]
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