Building on its excellent results and steady progress over the last 10 years in terms of workplace safety and environmental footprint reduction, Arkema has now joined the best in class, and has decided to strengthen its long-term targets on these issues. Accordingly, the Group has set itself a new ambitious Corporate Social Responsibility framework by 2025, underpinned by the firm commitment of its employees, its technological know-how, and a targeted investment policy.
Major improvements achieved over 10 years
Since its stock market listing in 2006, the Group has made significant progress in workplace safety and environment:
- reduction in the total recordable injury rate (TRIR), i.e. accidents with and without lost time, down to 1.5 injuries per million man-hours in 2015 from 11.3 in 2005;
- reduction in its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 64% in 2015 compared to 2005;
- reduction in its volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by 43% in 2015 compared to 2005.
New ambitious objectives
Arkema confirms its commitment to actively continue the progress made in safety and the environment, two vectors of its CSR.
So the Group has now undertaken to consolidate its excellent safety performance, with three 2015 targets:
- reduction in the total recordable injury rate (TRIR), i.e. accidents with and without lost time, to under 1.2
- extension of its peer observation program to 100% of its sites
- audit of 100% of its sites based on its AIMS(2) integrated management system
(2) Arkema Integrated Management System
Arkema has also undertaken to continue the sustained reduction of the environmental footprint of its activities with the following four targets* to be achieved by 2025:
- 50% reduction in its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions;
- 33% reduction in its volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions;
- 20% reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD) emissions;
- average annual reduction in net energy purchases of 1.5% from 2012 to 2020 and 1% from 2020 to 2025.
(*) Intensive indicators, with 2012 as baseline
To achieve its ambitions, the Group will rely on its investment and energy efficiency programs, the latter through its Arkenergy initiative, on its operational excellence drive, and on its employees' know-how.
Innovation, an integral part of CSR
Over and above reducing its environmental footprint and improving its safety records, Arkema develops an innovative chemistry at the service of sustainable development around 6 research and development platforms. Biosourced products, new energies, water management, solutions for electronics, lightweight and designed materials, and building performance and insulation indeed lie at the very core of the Group’s innovation.
For example, in 2015, to address the issue of reducing the weight of materials used in transport, Arkema developed innovative and breakthrough solutions in the field of composites with the development of Elium® acrylic resins and the launch of the Polystrand® range. Entirely geared to sustainable construction, the Smart House, a laboratory house and a world first, was inaugurated in France. In water management, a production line was set up in partnership with the company Polymem to provide drinking water treatment solutions based on latest generation Kynar® resins.