Brussels, 17 November - The European Solvents Industry Group (ESIG) celebrated its 15th year anniversary event on 16 November at the Club Royal des Officiers du Regiment des Guides in Brussels.

 

ESIG members, industry representatives, downstream users and officials from EU institutions were among those present to mark ESIG’s 15 years of work in the European Union supporting the sustainable, safe and responsible use of solvents.

José Antonio Ruiz, ESIG Chairman, looked back on ESIG’s achievements in assisting solvent users, 80% of whom are SME’s, with REACH regulatory compliance, through the development of a standardized catalogue simplifying the process of submitting exposure scenarios. “ESIG has been instrumental in helping its members comply with EU air quality legislation which contributed to the reduction of ground level ozone”. He also stated “this document was proactively pioneered and piloted for the entire chemical industry in Europe in cooperation with downstream users associations”.

 

Antoine Brossier, ESIG Director General, reflected on ESIG’s milestones over the years in promoting best practices in solvents usage and responsible care throughout the supply chain. “ESIG’s strong communications programme which includes a number of materials including best practice guidelines and newsletters has set a high benchmark for health and safety communications among industry, going far beyond regulatory requirements”. He added “these materials have also been recommended by national trade unions and employer’s associations to their members in all 27 Member states”.

 

The Director General also paid tribute to the Chairman’s work over the last four years, applauding José Antonio Ruiz for the leadership and drive he brought to the ESIG advocacy programme and welcomed John Greenhough, sponsored by Shell and current Product Stewardship Chair, who will take over as ESIG Chair in 2012.

Multisol Group, winner of the highly acclaimed 2011 ESIG Product Stewardship award was represented by Karl Shone, Technical Development Manager. Mr Shone presented the project entitled ‘changing the perception of our industry’ which aimed at dispelling the myths of the chemical industry among school children and educating them on the positive role and benefits of chemicals to everyday life.

 

ESIG acknowledges that there will be challenges ahead and is committed to continue engaging with members and key audiences in order to foster an informed debate about solvents and promote health, safety and environmental protection.

 

For further information: Please contact Antoine Brossier on Tel: +32.2.676.73.74 or abr@cefic.be

Information for the Editor: The European Solvents Industry Group represents the producers of oxygenated and hydrocarbon solvents, including both big multinational as well as small and medium sized enterprises. Our mission is to support the sustainable and responsible use of these solvents through dialogue, information sharing and solutions that address health, safety and environmental aspects.