In the article above, we discussed the importance of sound chemicals management programs in supply chain businesses and suggested that the "Three Rs" of chemicals management guide programs to tackle this issue. When you think about a chemicals management program in this way, you understand that there are three steps in executing a good initiative:

 

1. Get visibility into the chemicals in your company and in your supply chain. Get a team together and inventory all chemicals in all of your facilities (include both production and MRO/indirect chemicals). You're going to have to analyze that inventory for its toxicity characteristics, so it's probably best to enlist professional help at this point. And, to whatever degree is consistent with your company's policies relating to supply chain partners, you will also want to have an inventory and toxicity analysis of chemicals associated with your supply chain partners ... what toxins are present in your suppliers, distributors and 3PLs that might negatively affect your company and/or the environment?
 
2. Eliminate toxins whenever possible, including MRO chemicals. This will require usually require collaboration with engineering and other technical personnel to ensure that products and processes remain acceptable. If elimination of a particular chemical is not possible, then search out environmentally-friendly alternatives (aka "biosubstitutes"). Believe it or not, this task is actually quite possible thanks to commercially-available software that can take chemical analysis one step further and seek out biosubstitutes. The very best software even takes into account cost-per-ounce considerations!
 
3. Develop a comprehensive method to ensure regulatory compliance for any remaining toxins. Get a handle on all applicable U.S. and foreign chemicals laws and regulations. This may be the task of your company's legal department, but if it's your job then you have two choices: (a) outsource this task to an environmental regulatory professional or (b) use the internet and other resources to build your own database of applicable laws and regulations. If your company's budget allows it, option (a) is much better because this is a very complex and dynamic area. Laws and regulations are changing rapidly and you will eat up substantial internal resources trying to keep abreast.

 

Taking these three steps in order will help ensure that your chemicals management program represents today's best practices and will position you well for tomorrow's chemicals management challenges.