08 May 2024, Miami: Today, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) released a new Sustainability Report, “Sustainability Starts with Chemistry,” to highlight the crucial role the chemical industry plays in advancing sustainability progress around the globe. The report was launched at ACC’s Responsible Care® and Sustainability Conference, the chemical industry’s premier event focused on environmental progress and safety excellence and underscores the industry’s commitment to a more sustainable future.
“The chemical industry has spent years developing and advancing sustainable solutions to address global challenges, from climate change to enabling clean air and water to waste reduction and more,” said ACC President & CEO Chris Jahn. “Put quite simply, you cannot advance sustainable solutions without chemistry.
“Chemistry is a crucial element to tackling climate change and advancing energy efficiency,” Jahn added. “It would be impossible to manufacture a wide range of critical products, from renewable energy solutions like solar panels and wind turbines, durable high-performance building materials, lightweight vehicle parts, EV infrastructure, advanced battery storage, high-tech electrical products, composite materials and more, without the products of chemistry.”
The report also highlights sustainability as a key component of ACC members’ strategy for business resilience. “What’s good for the environment is also good for the bottom line,” said Mitch Toomey, ACC’s Vice President of Sustainability & Responsible Care®. “By slashing energy consumption, curbing emissions, and streamlining operations to conserve water and reduce waste, companies can drive efficiency, boost profitability and enhance global competitiveness.”
Sections of the report highlight the progress ACC member companies are making to advance key sustainability priorities. For example:
ACC member companies are exploring, developing and deploying a variety of innovative, lower emissions technologies, from carbon capture, utilization and storage to lower-emissions hydrogen to alternative feedstocks and more.
ACC members publicly report progress in reducing facility air emissions through ACC’s Responsible Care program. Since 2017, ACC’s reporting members have reduced their SOx emissions by 43% and their NOx emissions by 18%.
ACC members work with community stakeholders to advance science-based community air monitoring programs to help share information about air quality.
Because water stewardship is both a global and local issue, ACC collaborated with The Water Council to develop a Water Body Risk Assessment Framework to help ACC members identify and consider potential actions they can take to address and mitigate water-related risks.
ACC members are advancing sustainable chemistry and transparently providing information to customers and the public about the products they manufacture.
While the chemical industry continues to make progress to advance sustainability, ACC and its members recognize that the world’s need for more sustainable solutions is growing. And, as the demand for more sustainable solutions increases, ACC supports responsible regulation that puts science first, promotes innovation and supports supply chain resiliency.
“American success relies on American chemistry,” Jahn said. “ACC is proud to be leading the way in responsible, sustainable manufacturing for a brighter future. We need collaboration and cooperation as we work to innovate and deploy solutions that can protect our environment and improve quality of life for people around the world.”
