in the Finnish chemical industry - Kemia-lehti

Responsible Care programme is making progressNew boost forsustainabilityFor more than two decades,the chemical industry’sResponsible Care programmehas supported the voluntarysustainability of the sector’scompanies. Having producedgood results, the Finnishprogramme now provides thecompanies with new tools andthe possibility to an increasinglyextensive networking.the sector’s production in Finland.From the very beginning, voluntarysustainability has been given wideconsideration within the Finnishchemical industry, and the programmehas genuinely supported sustainabledevelopment. While the emphasishas varied over the years, continuousimprovement of operation and monitoringof results by using various indicatorshave always been essential issues.Cooperation between companies hasalso been strong, involving sharing of thebest practices and learning together.Work andproductionsafety play anessential roleat Fermion, amanufacturerof activepharmaceuticalingredients.Merja VuoriFor more than twenty years ago,the Finnish chemical industry wasamong the first ones to participate inthe chemical industry’s internationalResponsible Care programme. Over onehundred Finnish chemical companiesare currently involved, the programmecovering approximately 80 per cent ofLocal work in widenetworksThe Responsible Care programmewas launched in Canada in 1985.It has since then spread to over50 countries all over the world.Whereas the work is being conductedwithin wide internationalnetworks, implementation is carriedout locally.The operation in Finland is coordinatedby the Chemical IndustryFederation of Finland. Trade unionsof the field—Industrial Union TEAM,Trade Union Pro and the Federationof Professional and Managerial StaffYTN—are involved in monitoringand developing the programme.A cooperative agreement on theimplementation of the programmehas also been established with theAssociation of Finnish TechnicalTraders.Strength fromnew areas of focusHow to keep up with the time and providethe sector’s companies with strongsupport for sustainability? The answerwas sought in Finland in collaborationwith both company experts and tradeunions. Other partners and stakeholderswere also listened with keen ear.Sustainability is seen as the futuredirection. The European chemicalindustry is determined to play a key rolein ensuring that by 2050 over 9 billionpeople live well within the resources ofthe planet. This is a challenging goal,and clear-cut focal points were sought insupport of it.The new key areas of the FinnishResponsible Care programme coverall fields related to the sustainable andresponsible business of the companies.Central themes are the sustainable use ofnatural resources and associated solutionsas well as the sustainability and safetyof the production and products. Wellbeingof personnel, open dialogue, andcooperation emerged as special fields ofstrength.ExtensivenetworkingThe strength of the Responsible Careprogramme continues to stand out best ineveryday work aiming at sustainability.Orion OyjNew tools, new initiatives, and newforms of collaboration are availablefor the companies, promoting solutionsin accordance with sustainabledevelopment.A goal-oriented cooperation in safetyat work and energy efficiency will belaunched within the voluntary networksof the companies during 2013.The goal is chemical industry asthe sector with the highest energyefficiency in Finland. In the forthcomingyears, the project will be carried out incollaboration with the expert companyMotiva by utilising previous tools ofthe Responsible Care programme andthe SPiCE 3 programme of the EuropeanUnion.An intermediary target in safety atwork is halving of the lost time injuryfrequency rate by the end of 2015.Operation of the networks will start in22 KEMIA 5/2013