Saturday, September 24, 2016

Global chemical firms focus on India to promote TfS for sustainable supply chains

Global chemical firms focus on India to promote TfS for sustainable supply chains

Many Indian companies with large international exposure are showing their willingness to join Together for Sustainability (TfS) - a global initiative aimed at chemical suppliers

Handshake image via Shutterstock
Sustainability image via Shutterstock


With global chemical companies making ambitious growth plans, they are also taking steps to increase efficiency and improve productivity with minimum carbon footprint. For this, they are ensuring that processes are adopted not just within their production facilities but also beyond their factory boundaries. These chemical firms are increasingly taking steps, individually or in groups, to augment sustainability in their supply chains. 

One such initiative is (TfS), established in 2011 by six global chemical companies to create benchmarks for supply chains. has developed and implemented a global program to assess, audit and improve sustainability practices within the supply chains of the chemical industry. 

The initiative is increasingly gaining traction among the chemical industry as membership has more than tripled in the last five years to 19, with companies such as AkzoNobel, Arkema, BASF, Bayer, Clariant, Covestro, Evonik, Henkel, Lanxess, Solvay, etc, as its members. 

has established a standard approach for assessing and improving the sustainability performance of suppliers within chemical industry supply chains. Its assessments and audits are conducted to a pre-defined set of criteria and then shared across members, improving efficiency for all involved. The members currently share approximately 5,500 assessments and 580 audits.

India on a sustainability path
At the recently concluded India Chem 2016 conference, Union Minister for & Fertilizers Ananth Kumar stated that the Indian chemical industry is expected to grow at 9 percent annually to become a $ 226 billion sector by 2020 from present $ 147 billion, driven by growth in end-use industries and government initiatives. As India gears up to corner large pie of the global chemical industry market, it will have to align its manufacturing processes to international standards in terms of quality as well as sustainability quotient. 

Indian companies having large international exposure are increasingly showing their willingness to join TfS. “We have already started to implement our supplier engagement program in India. Approximately 300 suppliers have been assessed and 28 sites of Indian suppliers have been audited. We currently have more than 25 approved auditors in India that can conduct audits,” said a official. Due to the importance of the Indian market and supplier base, the members have chosen Mumbai as location for this year’s supplier conference, to be held on September 20, 2016.

With global companies looking at alternative avenues to source their raw materials, India, with its diversified manufacturing base that produces a wide range of products, has the potential to emerge as their reliable supplier. As a result, members are also looking to promote this initiative among their Indian suppliers. 

aligns well with our goal of responsibly procuring goods and services, along with partnering with supplier companies to standardise various processes and services. We are a part of the Indian chemical industry, which is setting global benchmarks when it comes to sustainability. Atherefore becomes imperative to the process. We are pleased to partner with globally and in India, to develop and implement a program to assess, audit and improve supplier sustainability practices,” said Biju Mathew, head - procurement, South Asia.

Through resources can be used more efficiently and with a minimum of administrative effort, among the member companies and their suppliers. This helps in better collaboration between member companies and their suppliers. “Our combined efforts help in providing standardised sustainability assessments and audit data of suppliers, while adhering to all compliance requirements; thus simplifying vendor review process. This leads to enhanced collaboration between member companies as well as suppliers, at an international level and will play an important role in developing a stronger future for the chemical industry,” added Mathew.

The suppliers’ perspective
Through TfS, the member companies have invested in developing a global program to conduct audits and assessment under pre-defined criteria on management, environment, health & safety, labour & human rights, and governance issues for their suppliers. offers single platform to assess supplier credibility for procurement, thus avoiding double audits and assessments for suppliers opting for this process. It also helps suppliers to engage with customers on sustainability requirements and build long-term business relationships with customers.

“Sustainability of business is must for all stake holders which is essential for business growth in global scenario. To become a preferred supplier Limited understood the significance of  TfS,” said Jayesh Ashar, chief operating officer, Ltd (VOL), which has opted for audit. 

VOL, a specialty producer with presence in over 22 countries, is one of the highest rated suppliers for TfS. This has helped the company to immensely enhance its exports business and to be among the top suppliers to the world’s leading chemical companies. 

“Our sustainability program is an overarching framework that supports our long-term business strategy and drives continual improvement. Sustainability is our business, which is reflected in our approach and structure. Clients, suppliers, communities and employees are part of our value chain. Engagement strengthens our understanding of stakeholder priorities. We place extraordinary focus on health and safety in everything we do, guiding principles and values drive our sustainability performance. Auditors audited our performance on all these fronts & get satisfied,” commented a VOL official. 

A windfall of opportunities awaits Indian chemical companies opting for as this initiative becomes a standardised platform for suppliers. This will also help them to be a part of the process of building supply chains throughout the global chemical industry.

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