US chemical council unveils annual environmental, safety award winners

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) presented its Responsible Care awards this week to four member companies, Ethyl Corp., Celanese, LyondellBasell and Bayer, in recognition of each of the companies' outstanding achievements in environmental, health, safety and security (EHS'S) performance.

"These four companies epitomize the chemical industry's commitment to a safer, more sustainable future," said ACC chief executive Cal Dooley. "Each company has demonstrated exemplary achievements in environmental performance, worker safety and the health and well-being of the communities in which they operate."

To be eligible for the Company of the Year award, companies must demonstrate how they have surpassed Responsible Care performance criteria, including: a safety performance rating in the top 10% of companies in their size category, with no significant process incidents in the previous year; positive performance measures in the areas of transportation safety, process safety and emissions reduction; and demonstrated improvements in EHS'S performance, product stewardship, distribution safety and emergency preparedness.

For the third time in four years, Ethyl Corp. is being honored as a Responsible Care company of the year. In 2013, Ethyl won its third straight Union Pacific Railroad Safety Pinnacle Award for Excellence in chemical transportation safety. Ethyl also received the "Perfect Record Award" from the National Safety Council for safety performance in three of the past four years, and recently celebrated 18 years of no lost time injuries at its Canada manufacturing location.

"This award is very meaningful to all of us at Ethyl because it is recognition from our peers for our performance on Responsible Care principles, primarily health, safety, environment, product stewardship, community service and overall doing the right thing," said Ethyl president Azfar Choudhury.

In 2013, Celanese had its best global safety performance – zero recordable injuries at US Responsible Care facilities. In addition, Celanese's One PSM program drives a culture of process safety throughout the organization, and the implementation of the Celanese Sustainability Council has helped to reduce emissions and waste generation at key sites to ensure Celanese's sustainability goals were met.

"Celanese has been Responsible Care certified since 2006, and we have been practicing the elements of Responsible Care for more than 30 years," said Darren Collins, vice president of manufacturing for Celanese. "Our management system has always had principle-based expectations in safety, environment and health, which has been strengthened by our deep employee engagement. It's an honor for everyone at Celanese to be recognized for their efforts to make the principles of Responsible Care truly part of the Celanese culture."

Responsible Care is embedded into everyday business at LyondellBasell, through its operational excellence management system and its logistic service provider risk classification. In 2013, LyondellBasell instituted new product steward bulletins for more than 800 of its most frequently ordered products – distributing more than 25,000 bulletins to customers and interested parties. 

"We never forget the real reason LyondellBasell is a Responsible Care company; it's because we are protecting those who work in our plants and those who are our neighbors and customers. We take our Responsible Care commitment very personally," said LyondellBasell CEO James Gallogly. "We thank the ACC for recognizing us as we pursue health and safety excellence."

In 2013, Bayer implemented its "DRIVE TOWARD ZERO" program, establishing an organizational culture promoting continuous improvement in compliance, process and product safety, sustainability, environmental performance, and safety. Bayer's commitment to safety is evidenced though its detailed product and safety training program, which includes on-site support for new customers to ensure safe handling of materials, before their first shipment is received.

"Bayer has been involved with Responsible Care since its inception more than 25 years ago," said Jerry MacCleary, president of Bayer MaterialScience. "It plays an integral role in Bayer's Sustainable Development program and provides external validation of Bayer's ‘license to operate.' We are very proud and humbled to have been chosen for this award."

Responsible Care is the chemical industry's world-class EHS'S performance initiative. Since 1988, Responsible Care companies have reduced hazardous releases to the air, land and water by more than 76%, improved energy efficiency overall, and have a worker safety record that is more than twice as safe, on average, as the overall chemical manufacturing sector and four times safer than the manufacturing industry as a whole.