Sustainability is not a new topic for the global chemical industry, which has a long-standing track record of putting such principles into practice. Along with creating clearly understandable and uniform standards for its own companies, the industry has also traditionally extended a helping hand to others along the value chain. To take its sustainability pledge to an even higher level and help meet new challenges, six European companies in 2011 joined in the Together for Sustainability Initiative (TfS), which now boasts 12 members in Europe.

From Responsible Care - the industrywide global initiative created in 1985, now running in 52 countries and accounting for nearly 90% of global chemical production - to the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA)'s Global Product Strategy stewardship program and beyond, there is no need to look far for examples of the chemicals sector's dedication not only to the development of new products, but also its willingness to accept responsibility for their safe application.

Building On Experience

As the supply chain becomes increasingly global, the number of hands - or machines  - needed to manufacture a single chemical product has grown significantly over the past years, giving rise to the need for improved and more transparent ways of doing business both at home and abroad. By participating in TfS, players in such important emerging markets as China or India stand to benefit from the experience already gained by established multinational companies in dealing with the EU's REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) scheme or the reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) analysis program in the US, for example.

Building on established principles such as those set down in its own Responsible Care program as well as in the UN Global Compact on sustainable supply chains, the original six members of Together for Sustainability - BASF, Bayer, Evonik, Lanxess and Henkel, along with Solvay of Belgium - began implementing their new supply-chain management tool in 2012. Within the first two years they were joined by AkzoNobel and DSM of the Netherlands, Clariant of Switzerland, Arkema of France, and German chemical and pharmaceuticals producer Merck.

The number of companies joining the procurement-led initiative has continued to grow. The newest European member is Germany's Wacker Chemie. Early this year, US multinational Eastman joined (but is not yet an official member), as part of an effort to draw into the fold American chemical producers with business overseas.

From Sustainability to Human Rights

Toward the goal of cutting down on bureaucracy and unraveling red tape, TfS operates with industry-specific questionnaires and audit forms specially designed to assess supply companies' performance. The uniform paperwork builds on sustainability standards established by the International Labor Organization (ILO), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Social Accountability International (SAI) and other international authorities.

The financial side of the process is steered by outside experts such as international auditing giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Auditing and rating specialists - Germany's DQS and Paris, France-based EcoVadis - have been integrated into the platform to carry out supplier evaluations that encompass issues from management, environment, health and safety to corporate governance, labor and human rights.

Both procurers and suppliers stand to profit from the web-based platform, the TfS initiators say. As audits and evaluations and the subsequent scorecard ratings are published online to be viewed by all participants, there is no longer a need for company-specific evaluations, even if onsite checks of production plants, warehouses and office buildings still serve to verify the virtual information gleaned.

Streamlining The Standards

Rather than filling out multiple forms, suppliers to TfS member companies must go through the process only once. The common standards also relieve chemical producers of the chore of obtaining separate sustainability assessments or audits from all of their many suppliers. Risk matrices help the producers identify those suppliers with a high sustainability risk potential.

The dream of TfS is eventually to see companies along the entire value chain operating on a single binding sustainability platform, and the chances of this vision becoming reality are looking increasingly likely.  Suppliers in China, India and Brazil are now coming firmly into focus. To move the process forward more quickly, the scheme's initiators also hope to draw international chemical industry organizations into the operation. To this end, in 2014, TfS held a Supplier Day in Shanghai, China, and also conducted training sessions in both China and Brazil.

In China, the sustainability drive's members are working together with East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai. Within the next five years they hope to be able to train the employees of around 2,000 suppliers in the common standards. In Brazil, the initiative member is following the same approach. Here, Espaco ECO Foundation is a partner.

The number of evaluations and 93 audits under TfS has steadily grown since 2012. Last year alone, the initiative carried out 2,505 evaluations and 93 audits. In cases where an analysis shows a need for further improvement, the producers and their auditors step in to help the client meet the established requirements and later carry out a second evaluation.

Along with improving the quality of supply, upholding environment standards and safeguarding the rights of supply company employees - the initiative, for example, will not do business with Third World firms employing child labor - Together for Sustainability also has a distinctly positive effect for large multinational chemical players in showcasing to an often critical public the high standards they and their suppliers follow.