Local Awareness And ChemFriendly

Traditional emergency responses are no longer adequate to meeting the challenges posed by chemical failures and disasters, whether from natural causes or human activity. Meeting the potential risks associated with chemical activities requires the cooperation of all stakeholders, including governments, industry, civil society organizations and the media. Local communities should know what activities with hazardous substances are taking placing in their vicinity, and participate in dialogue on what resources are required to counter potential threats and minimize potential losses.

ICCSS initiated Local Awareness and Responsibility in Chemical Safety and Security to enable local governments and actors to meet the safety and security challenges posed by the increasing use of chemicals and access to hazardous substances at the local level. Its main focus is to create local sustainable development policies and safety and security in chemical production, especially at the level of small and medium chemical companies (SMEs) and operators, as well as in chemical waste management and the transportation of hazardous materials. It supports local administrations and civil societies to mitigate chemical and environmental threats and emergencies.     

ICCSS further promotes Local Chemical Governance - is an expression of responsible risk management achieved by setting up a framework that makes clear who is responsible for making decisions, what the decision-making process is, and who is accountable for implementing decisions at local, enterprise levels. ICCSS through enhancing local governance helps local/company leadership prevent or defeat safety and security events that threaten business continuity; manage crises and disaster recovery actions; comply with regulatory and legal requirements; protect stakeholders’ interests while meeting stakeholders’ expectations; and ensure the company’s viability.

No single stakeholder can accomplish the goal of improving chemical governance in isolation from others. Improvement demands a strong coalition among the chemical industry and its professional associations, as well as safety and security expert communities. Together, and in collaboration with relevant international organizations, coalition members can assess requirements for improvement and formulate balanced solutions. An important part of that effort is improving communication and messaging on chemical governance issues, and thus convincing stakeholders and the public that global governance is valuable to national well-being.

Despite the amount of investments we make in safe development of chemistry helping to satisfy society needs, huge amount of consumers is not even aware of how much they owe to chemistry and how many products on the shelves has are made through the chemical industry in a safe and secure way. Today, chemistry at the level of production processes, as well as final goods raises a number of concerns for the consumers. There are growing environmental concerns linked to wrong or excessive use of chemical products. 

For this reason, in the age of universal access to information, consumers openly ask for transparency from companies, knowledge about their operations and confirmation that their products are created as a result of safe processes. They expect a declaration that supplied products will in fact be safe.
The answer to the above is the CHEM-FRIENDLY initiative. The aim of CHEM-FRIENDLY is building a positive image in the eyes of a consumer for safe products brought by a responsible producer or supplier.

The CHEM-FRIENDLY initiative was developed at the First Global Summit in Chemical Safety and Security (CHEMSS 2016) attended by over 400 participants from 40 countries representing government, academia, business and consumer associations.

CHEM-FRIENDLY is an Acknowledgement  that a company conducts production processes and manages chemicals in a safe and  responsible way.

CHEM-FRIENDLY creates individual, societal and business responsibility, not through the increase in standards, norms or certificates, but through knowledge sharing, best practices exchanges, cooperation and trainings.

CHEM-FRIENDLY’s goal is to create a positive image of chemistry and the enterprises engaged in this sector. Building a friendly image is an important sales leverage, not only for consumers but also for suppliers. Development of business whilst making processes safer and more secure.

Is CHEM-FRIENDLY for me?
Every company which deals with the chemical sector is welcome to join. Although chemistry is used for peaceful purposes, it can be deadly if managed in an inappropriate way. It applies to companies in sectors such as: Production; Transport; Storage; Industry Waste management

We also welcome all producers and suppliers of services who in their everyday business support the development of chemical safety and security. We will show your solutions increasing safety and security at a world forum.

Receipt of CHEM-FRIENDLY is a confirmation that the company is aware of the requirements and acts responsibly in the area of chemical safety and security. At the same time it supports the chemical safety and security culture and promotes its strengthening globally, along with the Declarations of CHEMSS 2016 and CHEMSS2017.