The chemical industry contributes to the sustainability of its transport operations

Safe, efficient and sustainable logistics are critical to the future of the European chemical industry. Ensuring safe transport and handling of its products, with care for the environment and in full accordance with regulations, is of key importance for the image and reputation of the chemical industry. The chemical industry promotes excellence in supply chain operations, with the aim of achieving higher efficiency, making better use of available resources and reducing the impact on the environment.

The chemical industry is therefore undertaking a wide range of activities contributing to the safety and sustainability of its transport operations. Numerous voluntary initiatives have been developed to promote and implement best practices for the safe transport of its products. Likewise, many efforts have been made to improve the environmental performance of the logistics operations by minimizing emissions during loading, unloading, cleaning and transport. Opportunities for further improvements are continuously being explored.

These initiatives have resulted in a series of best practices guidelines addressing a wide variety of topics, developed in close collaboration with the transport industry.
In addition, in order to drive continuous improvement of the standards and performance of transport companies, warehouses and tanker cleaning stations, Cefic has developed the Safety and Quality Assessment Systems (SQAS). SQAS helps transport companies in identifying and improving their weaknesses and assists chemical companies in evaluating their service providers.

ICE, the pan-European transport emergency response scheme (ICE) of the chemical industry aims to minimise the effects of accidents that may happen during the transport of chemicals.