SHE’s important

It’s a paradox that isn’t easily explained: safety is an overriding consideration at the plants and other facilities of chemicals companies, but the chemicals business as a whole has always been viewed with wariness, if not hostility, on the subject. Sanjay Choudhary, chief technology and sustainability officer of Tata Chemicals, can understand the attitude and he spiritedly explains what is being done to keep safety high on the agenda in an industry where there is no margin for error on the issue.

“The chemicals industry’s image has been sullied by some catastrophic disasters in the past,” elaborates Mr Choudhary. “The industry not only has to deal with occupational hazards, but also with those relating to chemical exposure within and outside ‘the fence’, which means production, storage, transportation and end use.”

The finest in the business have gone the extra mile while responding to concerns and questions about safety — in the workplace, in relation to the people and communities living in and around plants and other facilities, and in terms of the environment. This is in no small measure due to the increasing attention chemicals companies have received from investors, greater scrutiny by the media, and the stringent national and international regulatory and legal standards governing the industry.

“Chemicals companies around the world are delivering effective and consistent performance on measurable health and safety standards, and not just because there are consequences if they fail to do so,” says Mr Choudhary. Networking at various industry forums helps in this context, as it has with Responsible Care, a voluntary global initiative on SHE. For Tata Chemicals, a company that swears by safety, the associations include being part of the World Chemical Council’s ambassador and stewardship programmes at the Alkali Manufacturers’ Association of India and the Indian Chemical Council’s ‘Project Spruce’.

For Tata Chemicals, there are many components to SHE, the softly, if fortuitously, contoured acronym that stands for safety, health and environment. “The SHE aspects of workplace, communities and supply chain have differing perspectives and expectations,” says Mr Choudhary. “In the workplace, the focus is on employees, asset safety, hygiene, occupational health and pollution control. For the community, the concerns are about potential hazards arising from emergencies, exposure to chemicals and the long-term impact of operations on the local environment. Supply chain issues relate to spillage and releases during transport and storage and product use safety.”

Tata Chemicals is evolving a comprehensive approach on safety using national and international frameworks and guidelines, including those defined by the British Safety Council, and it has been hard at work educating its own people in this matter. The extra emphasis on SHE started getting entrenched in 2002 with a companywide campaign, after a survey showed up worrisome figures on employee awareness about safety, workplace injuries and accidents, and the overall mindset in the organisation.

“The vintage of our plants ranges from 1939 to ones that have been commissioned recently,” says Mr Choudhary, trying to explain the change in the safety equation at Tata Chemicals. “Our operations are diverse and complex; we deal every day with dangerous chemicals such as ammonia and chlorine and with corrosive acids. We took up the challenge of building a culture of safety by implementing worldclass safety practices, and by learning from our experience and success with the commissioning of our fertiliser plant [in Babrala in Uttar Pradesh] in 1994.”

An integrated SHE management programme was put in place to get the company’s leadership and workforce involved, and safety approaches at plant sites were modelled on global benchmarks. The response was immediate and positive, and the rewards started flowing in quickly enough. Take, for instance, the Tata Chemicals safety results for 2008-09: there were zero fatalities, and the ‘total number of recorded injuries per million manhours worked’ was 1.66 at Mithapur, 0.84 at Babrala and 0.99 at Haldia, which works out to an average of 1.40 and matches the performance of the best in the global industry.

The associated benefits for Tata Chemicals have been an improvement in image and recognitions and awards. “We have been able to assure international investors and financing agencies that we have met their yardsticks on SHE performance,” says Mr Choudhary. “The resource planning for SHE has been a priority and is being ramped up every year. Environment management has seen significant resource allocation over the years, for the filtering of effluents, to enable reuse of saline wasteland, for community initiatives on water, sanitation and health, and for special campaigns.”

The awards for Tata Chemicals have come from prestigious organisations, among them the British Safety Council, which has bestowed its ‘sword of honour’ on the company’s Babrala plant for four successive years, and the Indian Chemical Council, which has, since 2005, twice picked it for the Aditya Birla most committed Responsible Care Company award.

On the safety front, as in other operational spheres, Tata Chemicals has benefited through the sharing of knowledge and expertise with its recent global acquisitions such as Tata Chemicals Europe and Tata Chemicals North America. “SHE practices, carbon footprint assessment and benchmarking were part of Project Fusion and Project Premier, two successful integration processes that had colleagues from all our locations working together to facilitate integration in all our functions,” says Mr Choudhary.

Safety may be a common concern across all geographies, but outlooks vary significantly. “In the Indian context, the challenge is to deal with the low risk perceptions of contract workers,” adds Mr Choudhary, “and this is compounded by a lack of empowerment.” The situation is changing though, as increasing awareness and the coming into prominence of sustainability issues bring the world together.

On the environment front, says Mr Choudhary, “We will see more of a global consensus and joint action and voluntary targets being set, and corporate institutions will play a role in shaping policies and actions.” He points to sustainability factors influencing future fund flows and investment being linked to corporate performance on SHE. The corporate world will have to respond and it will have to be a response of consequence and reward. Simply put, it has no choice in the matter.

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