A Recap of ECTA’s Responsible Care Program in 2023
Frequently we notice that chemical logistics stakeholders – including our own RC members – miss a complete picture of what our program encompasses. Individual components and aspects may be familiar to many, but the overall picture sometimes seems unclear. To address this, we have prepared a clear and transparent summary of our RC activities in 2023.
ECTA Responsible care kpi forms
One pillar of ECTA’s RC program is based on the annual KPI reporting. In 2023 our RC members sent in their KPI reports which were consolidated by the ECTA Team and communicated or published at various occasions. The KPI trends are a standard item presented during the RC Workshop in September and the ECTA Annual Meeting in November. The same overviews are included in ECTA’s Annual Report which is published on our website.
ecta responsible care training workshop
Another pillar already mentioned above is our annual Responsible Care workshop. The workshop was again held at a hotel location at Zaventem/Brussels Airport and we are happy to see that attendance in 2023 was good. With a variety of professional speakers and interesting subjects the feedback showed a continued and clear appreciation for this event.
ecta t&TC committee
The ECTA Technical & Responsible Care Committee (T&RC Committee) had their annual physical meeting the day before the workshop. Other internet meetings of the team were more frequent during the year to discuss and decide on the various aspects of our RC program. Members of the T&RC Committee are 6 representatives of ECTA RC members and the meetings were chaired by the ECTA RC Director.
ecta zekp webinars
The ECTA Zero Emission Knowledge Platform (ZEKP), started in 2022, was further developed in 2023. More and more documents and links found their way into the ZEKP library. A new ZEKP initiative was the creation of 1-hour webinars. In 2023 four webinars were organized on the subjects: Emission Calculation; Preparation for the EU Green Deal Directive; Hydrogen Use in Heavy Goods Vehicles; and the Challenges of Switching to Intermodal Freight. These webinars have proven to be immensely popular, and not only with our ECTA RC members. The webinars are free of charge and open to everyone; the average registration is well over 120 while the average number of real participants is close to 100. We are happy to see the number of representatives from chemical industries also increasing.
activity in other committees
A standard ECTA RC activity is also participating in the relevant committees, e.g. with other associations. The most well-known committees are those related to Cefic’s SQAS program and also in 2023 we have shown our usual support. In general, we also participate in the creation or revision of Industry Best Practice Guidelines on RC subjects – in 2023 this activity was slowed down because of external circumstances.
to summarise
With above summary in mind, we are happy with the progress made in 2023. And although publicity via social media is not a specific Responsible Care item, we are happy to see that our increased presence via LinkedIn and our ECTA website is showing very positive results in better communicating and clarifying our RC activities.