Shanghai - November 18, 2019 - AICM today holds its 11th Open-to-Public Day (OTP) closing ceremony in Shanghai, China. About 80 executives from multinational chemical companies joined the closing ceremony. At the event, these AICM member companies demonstrated how their various OTP activities were successfully organized at their sites, universities and local communities this year, as promoted by AICM. Also, the executives held in-depth panel discussions under the theme of “Circular Economy”, exploring the market trends and practicable solutions.
Circular economy is now a global consensus, and a major strategy for China’s economic and social development. As an important approach to sustainability, it shows strong vitality and broad market prospect. This year, under the theme of “Circular Economy”, the AICM OTP was held for the 11th consecutive year. As of October, this year, 21 AICM member companies have held OTP activities with the local communities in 72 sites, 31 cities across China. In fact, they have worked closely with the stakeholders to show the public nationwide how the chemical industry and companies implement responsible care and drive circular economy, from the perspectives of plastic waste recycling, energy management, crisis control, etc., underscoring their confidence in and commitment to sustainability.
Earlier this year, nearly 30 companies on the global plastic and consumer products chain jointly established the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), which is expected to drive the economy of scale and development of solutions that control and eliminate plastic waste, thus allowing for circular economy. Many AICM member companies are also members of AEPW. At the OTP closing ceremony, the executives from these chemical companies discussed cooperation across the entire value chain, as well as innovative technologies and best models for circular economy. They also shared their best Cradle to Cradle practices (initially where raw materials are involved, manufacturers have developed the approach to recycling of chemical products at the end of their lifecycle). This concept of recycling across the full value chain is what we should implement within the industry in the future. Circular economy should go beyond waste management, not limited to the internal operations of companies, but running through the entire value chain. All the AICM member companies are practicing this concept, by learning from and cooperating with each other, and actively promoting the corporate social responsibility across the supply chain.
As a representative of the foreign-funded chemical companies in China, AICM is committed to contributing to the harmonious society and sustainable development of the chemical industry, and introducing the global best practices to the stakeholders within the Chinese industry, thus building a positive image of the chemical industry in the national economy. At the closing ceremony, AICM highlighted its previously released 2019 AICM Sustainability Report, which is the second AICM report on the sustainability of foreign chemical companies in China. It brings together the interviews and work summaries of the executives from 34 AICM member MNCs, discussing such topics as safe production, environmental protection, industrial development, technological innovation and relocation into park, and probing into the great potentials in the vast Chinese market. International chemical companies are willing to invest in facilities, R&D and innovation, and go from building a presence in the Chinese market to localizing their operations.
“After Industry 4.0, circular economy will be the next major trend. Currently sustainability is the core concern of the chemical industry,” said Jeff Zhu, Chairman of AICM. “AICM and its member companies are striving in the circular economy context to drive the development of renewable energies and help create a sustainable society, by focusing on technology innovations, environmental protection and safe production. Since 2009, AICM has worked with its member companies to hold Open-to-Public Days on a yearly basis. Over years of hard work, we have not only established mutual trust with local communities, but also disseminated the OTP spirit. Next up, we will continue to share with the public our progress, and work seamlessly with more stakeholders to enable sustainability in the chemical industry.”
About AICM
AICM was founded in 1988 in Hong Kong and represents nearly 70 major multinational companies in the chemical industry of China, these companies’ businesses cover R&D, manufacture, transportation and distribution of chemicals. Over Years of development, AICM and these companies developed a shared vision: to contribute to the development of a harmonious society and the sustainable growth of China’s chemical industry, as the representation of the leading international chemical players in China, AICM commits to: Promote Responsible Care and other globally recognized chemical management principles among all stakeholders; Advocate cost-effective, science- and risk-based policies to policy makers; Build up the contributive role of the chemical industry to the economy. More information, please visit: www.aicm.cn
More Info：Xuan Li
AICM Manager of Public Relation & Communication Committee
Email: xuanli@aicm.cn
Phone: +86 - 10 - 85181897
