Ten years ago, Innospec introduced a Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Best Practice group. The concept was developed to help all sites benefit from each other’s experiences by encouraging the company’s safety professionals to come together and discuss any serious accidents, incidents and near misses that occur.

The group meets biannually, with each manufacturing site hosting the meeting in rotation. At each meeting, the group tours the host site to spot any potential issues, near misses and examples of good practice.

Our Salisbury team have formed a strong partnership with the local Elementary School that has 95% of pupils at poverty level. In 2017, our employees volunteered at the school as part of the Rowan County United Way ‘Day of Caring’. The event encourages volunteers from companies within the community to come together to complete projects for local schools and non-profit agencies. Salisbury employees helped improve the appearance of the school by painting doors and walls.

Ellesmere Port, UK, received their second Order of Distinction Award from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) for its excellent health and safety performance in 2017. The award recognizes 16 consecutive years of achieving RoSPA Gold.

Innospec’s launched its new Trainee Lab Technician program in 2017 to encourage young people to consider a career in chemistry and provides a sustainable source of in-house trained and qualified employees for the Innospec R&T Group.

The program was initiated by the Corporate R&T Center at Ellesmere Port, UK and supports trainees to work towards a BTEC Higher National Diploma (HND) in Applied Chemistry at a local college on a day-release basis.

The program has three initial trainees, all of whom are allocated an experienced mentor and receive practical training.

Many of our sites support their local schools by giving educational and career talks, raising money, or by giving a helping hand to upgrade facilities. Below are a few examples of activities held in 2017.

Our Personal Care technical team based at Ellesmere Port in the UK took time out to inspire 81 students during the ‘Chemistry at Work Week’, held at the Catalyst Science Discovery Center in Widnes in the UK. The team developed a ‘Showering with Surfactants’ workshop for the museum’s education program targeted at children aged 7 to 11. The group also took part in ‘Science in Industry’ day for 48 children, aged 13 to 14, at the local Whitby High School in Ellesmere Port.

2017 was a record fundraising year for Innospec with over US$452,000 raised, a 52% increase on our 2016 total of US$244,788.

Supporting local charities and good causes is an important part of our responsible business strategy. As a global company, we take pride in our local approach, supporting the communities where we work and live. Our employees participate in a huge amount of community and fundraising activities throughout the year and Innospec is proud to support them.

Development and Training is one of our Responsible Business Strategy Focus Areas and we are pleased to have supported one of our 2010 chemical engineering interns, Paul Veihs, through to a Master’s degree.

Paul began as an intern at our Leuna site in Germany and then transitioned to an apprenticeship. Following his successful apprenticeship, he went on to complete his chemical engineering degree in 2016.

Innopsec’s focus on people and strong social values is a key part of our responsible business strategy and has supported the transition of over 400 new employees into the business following the acquisition of the European surfactants business from Huntsman at the end of 2016.

One of the ways that we recognize and reward good safety performance is though our Corporate Safety Awards and Certificates.

As an active member of the American Cleaning Institute (ACI), we were pleased to be able to support the ACI’s sustainability communication activities by contributing to their 2017 annual sustainability report. The ‘Foundations for Transformation’ report showcases the US cleaning products industry’s progress towards sustainability and highlights how the industry is addressing core material issues. Further information is available on the ACI website at www.cleaninginstitute.org.

Once again, Innospec scored above the CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) Supply Chain Disclosure Program average and industry activity group average in 2017.

Using the more stringent methodology and scoring framework introduced in 2017 by CDP, we achieved a performance band score of C: Awareness which compares favorably with the CDP program average and industry activity group average of D: Disclosure.

  • environment

Herne, Germany, became a carbon neutral site for the first time in 2017. The site commissioned an external consultancy to conduct an energy survey on site so that it could calculate the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions it generated.

Following the survey, the site purchased 11,000 carbon certificates to offset the 2017 and 2018 energy usage. The purchase of these certificates supported two climate protection projects involving hydropower in Uganda and wind turbines in India.

  • environment

Many of our employees are active in their local communities, often providing support and opportunities to the some of the most vulnerable members. Below are a few examples of activities held in 2017.

Employees at our Pencader Laboratory in Newark, US, hosted their first soup kitchen in December 2017. Five teams rotated to provide a four-shift meal service at the local church, ensuring a steady supply of hearty food for those that are struggling.

  • environment

Our global Energy Reduction Group was established in October 2016 when we realized that many of the easy gains had been achieved. The Group, led by corporate engineering, supports capital equipment investment projects where the payback period is accepted as being longer than would normally be required.

During 2017, the Group invested in a number of projects, including:

  • Insulation of four tanks (phase 2 of a 2016 project) with an estimated GHG saving of 216 tonnes per annum.
  • Installation of water and gas meters at High Point, US, site to enable accurate measurement of energy use so that a baseline can be established.
  • A new economizer for steam boilers at Ellesmere Port, UK, with anticipated annual savings of 2,368 Megawatts of gas and 436 tonnes of GHGs.
  • environment

Our employees are our greatest strength and have helped Fuel Specialties save an estimated US$2.3million in 2017 through the ‘Take the Lead’ employee engagement project.

At the start of 2017, our Fuel Specialties business in Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia Pacific launched the project and called on employees to come up with ideas of how we could improve. Take the Lead is all about adapting and responding to the changing market conditions and ensuring that we are prepared to meet and overcome any challenges ahead.

Innovation and research provides the foundation for growth across our Fuel Specialties, Performance Chemicals and Oilfield Service businesses. It is one of our Responsible Business Strategy’s Focus Areas and helps us to develop cleaner, safer and more efficient products that are fit for society’s future needs.

In 2017, we have brought a range of new products to market. Below are a few examples from across our business areas:

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