Norbert Mahr, Director Supplier CO2 Management Program BASF, will be our guest speaker at the…
TfS CONFERENCE CHINA
MOVING TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CHEMICAL SUPPLY CHAINS



With the aim to promote a mutual understanding on sustainability challenges and requirements of the chemical supply chain, the Together for Sustainability (TfS) initiative held its first conference in Shanghai, China on 22 October, 2014.
About 350 participants joined the event in China – including suppliers, TfS member company representatives as well as local and international associations and non-Governmental organizations. Main topics included sustainable supply chains and specific sustainability requirements in the chemical industry. The conference also provided an overview on key audit results achieved so far as well as the improvement process at supplier level.
Mr. Li Shousheng, Executive Vice Chairman of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF) delivered a keynote speech. “In line with the global trend of sustainable development, the TfS initiative is an innovation that aims to enhance the competitiveness of the industry. China has stepped into a new stage of sustainable development. It is important for the Chinese enterprises to learn from advanced concepts and successful experience of international companies, and to strive to create a brand new era of sustainable development in the Chinese petrochemical industry,” he said.
Founded in 2011, the TfS initiative develops and implements a global audit program to assess and improve sustainability practices within the supply chains of the chemical industry. It involves independent experts to carry out assessments and audits of suppliers. Its members include AkzoNobel, BASF, Bayer, Clariant, Evonik, Henkel, LANXESS and Solvay. So far, the TfS member companies have successfully initiated about 2,000 assessments and 180 supplier audits. Besides, about 30 main audit criteria have been defined in the joint audit program and a respective auditor pool was established.
“The TfS initiative helps the members to standardize, and thus simplify the inspection of their suppliers by sharing supplier sustainability assessment and audit data. The increased transparency on sustainability standards provides a sound basis for business decisions. Moreover, resources can be spent more effectively to initiate continuous improvements of sustainability standards in global supply chains,” said Mr. Michael Britt, Head of Global Direct Procurement of BASF.
Mr. Ruediger Eberhard, Chief Procurement Officer of Evonik commented, “Thanks to all members’ joint efforts, the TfS initiative is expanding its activities in high growth sourcing markets, including China, Brazil and India. Additional companies like Brenntag, DSM and MERCK have expressed their interest in joining TfS, and they are warmly welcomed. The more companies take part in the initiative, the larger the economies of scale will be and the chemical industry will benefit from standardization.”
In a panel discussion with TfS members and supplier representatives the panelists openly discussed the achievements and challenges they see for implementing the TfS initiative in China from both sides. With a common goal to move towards a sustainable chemical value chain, all participants found the 1st TfS China conference a well-served platform to create awareness and mutual understanding on sustainability requirements and to bring the initiative forward.
迈向可持续发展的化工供应链



化工供应链在可持续发展方面的挑战和要求是什么?为增进对这些问题的理解,“携手可持续发展”(TfS)倡议组织于2014年10月22日在中国上海召开首届会议。
包括供应商、TfS成员代表、本地及国际行业协会和非政府组织的约350人出席了此次会议。会议的主要议题是可持续的化工供应链以及对化工行业可持续发展的具体要求。本次会议还公布了到目前为止TfS的主要审计结果以及供应商层面的改进流程。
中国石油和化学工业联合会常务副会长李寿生先生在会上发表了主题报告,“TfS的宗旨符合全球可持续发展的潮流,是提升行业竞争力的一项管理创新。当前中国经济发展已进入了可持续发展的新阶段,中国企业要学习和借鉴跨国公司的先进观念和成功经验,努力开创中国石化行业可持续发展新局面。”
自2011年创立以来,TfS发展并推行了一项全球审计项目,以评估和提升化工供应链的可持续性实践。具体措施是由独立专家对供应商进行评估与审计。TfS成员包括阿克苏诺贝尔 (AkzoNobel)、巴斯夫(BASF)、拜耳(Bayer)、科莱恩(Clariant)、赢创(Evonik)、汉高(Henkel)、朗盛(Lanxess) 和索尔维(Solvay) 。目前,TfS成员已成功完成了约2,000份评估报告和180份供应商审计报告。此外,在联合审计项目中已确定了约30条主要审计标准,并建立了相关的审计资料库。
“TfS对其成员的供应商实行标准化的可持续性评估,并共享其审计结果,从而简化了对供应商的审查流程。可持续标准的透明度不断提升,为企业的商业决策提供了坚实的基础。此外,资源被更有效地利用,以不断提升全球供应链的可持续水平,”巴斯夫全球直接采购负责人Michael Britt先生说道。
赢创首席采购官Ruediger Eberhard先生表示:“在所有成员的共同努力下,TfS在中国、巴西和印度这样的高速增长的采购市场发展壮大。更多公司,如优信邦泰(Brenntag)、帝斯曼(DSM)和默克(MERCK)表达了加入TfS的意愿,我们非常欢迎。越多公司加入该倡议,规模效益就越大,化工行业将从标准化中受益。”
在TfS成员和供应商代表参与的小组讨论中,大家讨论了在中国推行TfS所取得的成绩和面临的挑战。迈向可持续发展的化工供应链是所有参会者的共同目标,首届TfS中国会议无疑是提升可持续发展意识,增进互相理解,以推动TfS发展的有效平台。