The European chemical industry has presented a new sustainable development initiative on water management at an event in Brussels.

Called “Water management in chemical production plants”, the initiative aims to promote better water management by spreading know-how on good practices and indicator-based progress reporting. It is the fourth in a series of “flagship” initiatives, announced in 2012, being rolled out by European chemicals trade group Cefic following the May 2012 release of its first sustainability report.

The initiative seeks to find new, reliable indicators that measure the uptake of sustainable water management approaches by Cefic’s members, followed by a ‘pilot testing’ phase before the indicators become part of regular Responsible Care and Sustainable Development reporting.

William Garcia, Cefic executive director for the environment said:

“The chemical industry is bringing to life this project to strengthen our role as a solution provider to meet the sustainable water use challenge.”

The Cefic-hosted water management launch event, where the initiative was unveiled to over 50 stakeholders, gave EU policymakers an opportunity to present their expectations of the chemical industry when addressing water management. Several stakeholders at the event shared experiences on stewardship approaches in water management by presenting case studies from the chemical industry.

In addition to the announced water project, three other flagship initiatives have already been launched since the beginning of the year, including programmes addressing industrial resource efficiency, plastic waste disposal and sustainable use of PVC.

Garcia concluded: “The event reconfirmed what stakeholders expect our role in water management to be. We plan to use the findings from today’s programme to further raise awareness with our membership and get their commitment to actively embark on this project.”