Arkema Inc. today announced it has been named a 2021 Responsible Care® awardee by the American Chemistry Council (ACC).
Arkema Inc. today announced it has been named a 2021 Responsible Care® awardee by the American Chemistry Council (ACC). Arkema received Energy Efficiency Awards for achievements at its Clear Lake, Texas, and Memphis, Tenn., sites, as well as a Product Safety Award for its efforts to reduce safety incidents related to the transportation of Hydrogen Peroxide. The ACC also recognized the company with Facility Safety Award Certificates of Excellence.
“We’re pleased to again be recognized by the ACC for our ongoing work to reduce our environmental footprint, manage our products responsibly, and ensure the health and safety of our employees and communities in which we operate,” said Rich Rowe, president and CEO of Arkema Inc. “Every employee plays a role in helping us reach the Group’s ambitious targets aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, and I am proud of the continuous efforts put forth by our teams.”
Energy Efficiency Awards
The ACC recognized Arkema’s Clear Lake and Memphis sites with Energy Efficiency Awards for their achievements in significantly improving energy efficiency. The company’s programs have resulted in reduced energy spending and greenhouse gas emissions at the sites. This is the third consecutive year Arkema has received the Energy Efficiency Award.
The Clear Lake plant made a 32 percent improvement by reducing excess oxygen in thermal oxidizers, replacing an electric pump with a steam driven turbine on large cooling water and refrigerator water pumps, shutting off unit lighting during daylight hours with photo-cells, enhancing LED lighting and replacing inefficient large compressor motors, among many other projects.
The Memphis site made an 18.8 percent improvement by implementing numerous projects including compressed air system optimizations, convection heat recovery improvements, replacing old HVAC units with more efficient units, increasing CO2 recovery, improving electrical metering, and many combined projects to enhance reliability and reduce process upsets.
Product Safety Award
The Hydrogen Peroxide Transportation Safety Improvement Team was recognized for its work to analyze and reduce safety incidents related to the complex transportation of Arkema’s Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) product. Through Comprehensive Cause Mapping and modified Hazard & Operability analysis, the multi-disciplinary team created a wide-ranging and sustainable improvement action plan. This program resulted in a significant reduction in safety incidents in the first 10 months of implementation, including a 38 percent reduction in incidents compared to 2019 and a 41 percent reduction on annualized totals.
Facility Safety Awards
ACC presents the Responsible Care Facility Safety Award to member companies with significant achievements in employee health and safety performance. Seventeen Arkema sites throughout the U.S. received Facility Safety Award Certificates of Excellence this year.
“Responsible Care is the chemical industry’s commitment to the health and safety of their employees, the communities in which they operate, and the environment as a whole. It’s the foundation of our industry’s sustainability commitment, helping ACC member and Responsible Care Partner companies operate with environmental protection, health, safety and security as top priorities,” said ACC President and CEO Chris Jahn. “I am pleased to recognize the people and companies who have gone above and beyond to drive continuous improvement in the safety and sustainability of our chemical processes, products and operations.”
Honorees were announced at the ACC’s virtual 2021 Responsible Care & Sustainability Conference & Expo. To learn more about Responsible Care visit: www.americanchemistry.com/rc.
About Arkema
Building on its unique set of expertise in materials science, Arkema offers a portfolio of first-class technologies to address ever-growing demand for new and sustainable materials. With the ambition to become in 2024 a pure player in Specialty Materials, the Group is structured into 3 complementary, resilient and highly innovative segments dedicated to Specialty Materials -Adhesive solutions, Advanced Materials, and Coating Solutions- accounting for some 80% of Group sales, and a well-positioned and competitive Intermediates segment. Arkema offers cutting-edge technological solutions to meet the challenges of, inter alia, new energies, access to water, recycling, urbanization and mobility, and fosters a permanent dialogue with all its stakeholders. The Group reported sales of around €8 billion ($9 billion USD) in 2020, and operates in some 55 countries with 20,500 employees worldwide. www.arkema.com