"With the BP oil spill, the issue is no longer just about oil and goes beyond the environment, jobs and the economy. It is about trust," said Brian Ferguson, executive chairman of US-based Eastman Chemical and chairman of the ACC at the trade group's 2010 annual meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado, US, earlier this month.
"A global, high-profile industry has lost the trust of key stakeholders, and I suspect that many industries have been tarnished in the process. American institutions face a crisis of trust, and the chemical industry and our products remain at the front, or near the front of the line."
The BP spill has the potential to impact chemical management policy, notes Cal Dooley, president and CEO of the ACC.
"The BP spill further contributes to the decline in the public's confidence in corporations. This could have an impact on shifting the balance between what should be the responsibility of government versus the private sector in determining the safety of chemicals," says Dooley.
"But it's still too early to determine whether it will manifest in any significant change in public opinion and politics that could influence whether or not we maintain a commonsense and effective risk-based approach to assessing chemicals' safety, or one that is driven by fear and that would restrict a lot of products from the marketplace without providing any additional measurable margin of safety," he adds.
Dooley is confident the broader public understands a commonsense approach is needed to protect the safety of consumers, while also allowing US industry to operate and innovate. "Our most compelling response to those that are calling for a very heavy-handed regulatory approach to chemicals by the government is that this would be so damaging to US manufacturers that you will drive investment, innovation and jobs out of the US," said Dooley.
As a direct impact of the BP oil spill, a comprehensive energy bill is unlikely to pass the Senate in 2010, according to the ACC president.
"I had been optimistic that Congress would act on an energy-only proposal before the end of this legislative year, but the BP oil spill has energized the opponents of offshore oil drilling to the point where it's now very difficult to put together the broad-based coalition needed to pass energy legislation this year, let along cap-and-trade," said Dooley.
CAP-AND-TRADE EXCLUDED
An energy-only proposal would exclude a cap-and-trade provision, but promote onshore and offshore development of oil and natural gas, as well as nuclear and renewable energy.
He expresses concerns about congressional proposals that "seek retribution" against oil producers.
"The moratorium on deepwater oil drilling and the slowdown in the issuing of permits inevitably results in a reduction of domestic oil and gas supplies, which could raise our energy and feedstock costs," says Dooley.
"[Regulation] will drive jobs out of the US" Cal Dooley, CEO, American Chemistry Council |
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While the US chemical industry faces difficult challenges, Ferguson says the good news is that the trade group "is the strongest, most capable ACC we have ever known."
The ACC has made advocacy to influence public policy its top priority, having shifted a greater share of its budget to advocacy efforts - from 27% in 2008 to 60% of its almost $70m ( 57m) budget in 2010.
The foundation for the ACC's advocacy efforts is its Responsible Care environmental, health, safety and security initiative.
"With Responsible Care, we make our bid for the trust of employees, communities, officials and the public, even in the face of eroding public confidence in business," said Ferguson. "The Responsible Care ethic gives us our most important weapon - our fundamental credibility."
