The 5th Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) Responsible Care Conference has arrived for the first time in the Kingdom of Bahrain from September 5-7  at the Ritz-Carlton, Manama for three days of knowledge sharing and networking under the theme ‘Shaping A Sustainable Future with Innovative Solutions’.

 

Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, President of Electricity & Water Authority (EWA), Bahrain and Chairman, GPIC, delivered the inaugural address on the main day of the event, September 6.

 

The opening remarks were presented by Khalid Al Alyani, EHS VP, SABIC and Vice-Chairman, Responsible Care Committee, GPCA.

 

The path to net-zero in 2050 will require enabling technologies and infrastructure, collaboration, and conducive regulatory frameworks to develop effective solutions that will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, enable the energy transition and address climate change, speakers sad.

 

Practiced in 70 countries globally, including in countries in the Arabian Gulf, Responsible Care has enabled chemical companies in the region to reduce their environmental impact, maintain safe operations and build strong partnerships with their communities, they added.

 

As part of the keynote address on Day 1, September 6, Dr Ali Al-Meshari, SVP, Technology Oversight & Coordination, Aramco, engaged on stage with Dr Ahmed Al Hazmi, CEO, Al Madar Group, about the carbon management journey in Saudi Arabia.

 

Delegates heard first-hand insights on effective approaches for reducing and removing carbon emissions, such as CO2 capture and storage, low-carbon hydrogen, low-carbon fuels, and offsetting solutions.

 

The second panel of the day delved into the industry’s perspective for achieving carbon neutrality. Raoul Meys, Co-Founder and CTO at Carbon Minds moderated the session. Joining Raoul on stage were Dr. Fahad Al Sherehy, VP, Corporate Sustainability, SABIC, Mictchell Toomey, VP, Sustainability and Responsible Care, American Chemistry Council (ACC) and Mohammed Al Ruwaidhi, VP Aromatics and Energy, OQ.

 

Later that day, Rafeeq Zachariah, Commercial Director, SIRC, discussed the establishment of the National Chemical Safety Program in Saudi Arabia, while Jeffrey Kovacs, Responsible Care Leadership Group (RCLG) Chairman, ICCA, delivered a plenary address titled ‘Responsible Care: A practitioner’s tool for innovation and sustainability’.

 

Setting the tone for the last day of the event, September 7, Salamah Al Dhafiri, EHS Director, Sadara and Chairman, RC Conference Planning Taskforce, GPCA, will present the opening remarks.

 

They will be followed by a must-attend session focused on human factors moderated by Tom Keane, HSE Culture and Leadership, Procyon, featuring panelist Diane Chadwick-Jones, Former Human Performance Director, BP, and Adnan A. AlMahmood, Deputy CEO, Support, GPIC.

 

Dr Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, Secretary General, GPCA, commented: “We are pleased to gather in the Kingdom of Bahrain for the first time this year to provide a platform for some of the most pertinent discussions in the chemical industry currently. How is the industry addressing carbon management? What are the pathways to achieving carbon neutrality? What is the link between Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) and Environment, Health, Safety, and Security (EHS&S)? And much more.”

 

As part of the conference, GPCA released its Responsible Care® 2022 Performance Metrics report under the theme ‘Navigating a Year of Progress and Sustainability’. The report is based on 999 data entries from 39 companies collected and analyzed from a set of 26 metrics.

 

According to the report, in 2022, GPCA members achieved an impressive 17 per cent reduction in combined Total Recordable Incidents (TRIs), encompassing incidents involving both employees and contractors measured against the previous nine years.

 

In 2022, process safety incidents dropped by 31 per cent YoY and by an impressive 40 per cent over the past nine-year average.

 

In 2022, GPCA members reduced hazardous waste generation by a remarkable 42 per cent compared to the previous year.

 

In addition, the report revealed a 61 per cent reduction of hazardous waste generation when compared to the average value recorded over the previous nine years (2013-2021).

 

As part of the conference program, a Contractor Safety Workshop kicked off on September 5, while a workshop on EHS&S digitalisation took place in the afternoon to provide practical insight into contractor safety and how technology can raise the bar in EHS&S.-TradeArabia News Service