Equate Hosts Roundtable Organized by GPCA

Senior government and industry leaders from across the Arabian Gulf and globally converged at an important industry roundtable, organized by the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) and sponsored by EQUATE Petrochemical Company, a global producer of petrochemicals, on 7 November 2018 in Kuwait.

The high-level meeting titled ‘Government and Chemical Industry Collaboration in Chemical Management and Hazardous Waste’, included participation from Naser Aldousari, Senior Vice President, EQUATE, Dr. Abdulwahab Al Sadoun, Secretary General, GPCA, and Dan Roczniak, Director Outreach, American Chemistry Council.

The agenda discussed important topics concerning collaboration between government and private organizations, GPCA’s overall efforts, the prerequisites of establishing a robust recycling industry in the region, the opportunities and challenges for industrial waste recycling or chemicals transportation and the case for ADR, formally, the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR), as well as Responsible Care® in the GCC.

Dr. Abdulwahab Al Sadoun, Secretary General, GPCA, commented: “We are pleased to have had such a positive outcome at this important government-industry roundtable which gathered together senior government officials, industry leaders and regulators to discuss ways of collaboration between GCC governments and the chemical industry that effectively address chemical management risks and leverages industrial hazardous waste opportunities. By organizing this meeting with the support of EQUATE, we aim to improve the awareness and foster dialogue among regulators on best available practices across the globe, while increasing collaboration to facilitate the development of regulations related to Global Harmonization System (GHS) and Dangerous Goods Road Transportation (DGRT) by working in partnership with the relevant stakeholders.”

For his part, Naser Aldousari, Senior Vice President, EQUATE, said: “Collaboration between our industry and the government regulators is a key element for overall progress, development and growth. As this forum is co-organized by GPCA and EQUATE, we must take note of the challenging role of GPCA as it represents over 95% of the petrochemical producers in the Gulf. While GPCA is establishing initiatives, sustaining and maintaining the success of such initiatives is the role of this regulatory forum that brings together both government and private bodies. Our goals here are simple: Through this partnership between regulatory bodies and GPCA, we want to have common regulations to facilitate regional trade, as well as strengthen our global presence and competitiveness.”

Attended by over 90 delegates from the GCC and other parts of the world, the roundtable included representatives from GPCA member companies, as well as environmental authorities, industrial bodies, fire departments, armed forces, customs and others.