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Product stewardship in our chemicals business
We manufacture and deliver chemical products to large industrial customers in all parts of the world. Countless products that we all use every day in our homes, our cars, at work or while we relax owe their beginnings to the raw materials that we provide. So responsible product stewardship is vital especially in the initial development of new products.
Our chemical products
We systematically assess the safety of all the chemical products that we produce. These checks determine any harmful effects that the product could have on people, property and the natural environment. It covers effects when the products are used as intended, and when they are misused in ways that we can anticipate.
We use four main steps to assess our chemical products:
- Identify – information about the product, its potential hazards and uses is documented.
- Assess – the product’s potential health and safety risks are then assessed.
- Control – procedures are then put in place to address any of these risks.
- Review – these steps are repeated on a regular basis, or when new information becomes available.
We make basic chemical components that others turn into products. Our assessment process covers the initial development of our chemical components. We work closely with our customers to help them take a systematic approach to health and safety of the intermediary and final products they produce.
Our approach to crop protection legacies
Until 1993, Shell companies made and sold crop protection chemicals (pesticides). Shell supports projects that help owners of these products safely remove and dispose of their obsolete stocks. We also systematically review and manage environmental conditions at Shell sites where these products were handled to avoid harm to people and protect the environment.
The crop protection chemicals Shell companies used to make were very effective. They were used, for example, to control locusts and insects carrying diseases such as malaria. However, some of these crop protection chemicals are now banned because it was later discovered that they are toxic and persist in the environment.
Before they were banned, stocks were often donated by aid agencies and the UN to developing countries. Some countries still have stocks of these now obsolete products, but neither the funds nor the facilities to dispose of them safely.
Supporting disposal projects: Shell does not own these obsolete stocks, but as part of our commitment to product stewardship, we actively support projects to find and safely dispose of them often working through the industry body CropLife - opens in new window or the Food and Agriculture Organisation led Africa Stockpiles Programme - opens in new window. By the end of 2007, industry records showed there were less than 200 tonnes of Shell-manufactured obsolete stocks remaining, in comparison with global obsolete crop protection stocks from all manufacturers estimated to be in excess of 100,000 tonnes.
Shell sites: Shell companies also handled these products at a number of sites. We review and manage environmental conditions at these sites in line with international best practice. We also act to address environmental impacts where they have occurred. In Brazil, for example, we are working with the authorities at Paulinia, a former chemicals plant, and Vila Carioca (Ipiranga district), a fuel depot and former chemicals plant, to take corrective action to deal with environmental impacts from former operations there.
