Organising product stewardship in large chemical companies

The paper analyses the organisation of Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) management in the chemicals manufacturing industry, focussing in particular on the implementation of the “Responsible Care” framework and the concept of “Product Stewardship”. We conduct in depth interviews with two major manufacturers of speciality chemicals regarding their overall strategy with respect to product safety, the organisational structure of their EHS management, the decision processes involved in product development and their Product Stewardship management systems. The efficiency of centralised versus decentralised organisational structures for achieving product safety are discussed and suggestions are given how the incentives of companies to efficiently implement and follow Product Stewardship guidelines can be enhanced