Voluntary initiatives affecting training and education on safety, health and environment in the chemical industries. Report TMCI/1999

The chemical industry has been a leading sector in developing voluntary initiatives to promote good health, safety and environmental performance. Programmes such as Responsible Care, the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) of the European Union, and the ISO 14000 series of standards are prime examples. This report, the background document for an ILO tripartite meeting, examines these schemes with particular reference to their implications for education and training for various audiences and categories of chemical industry staff. Among other issues, it considers the question of what kind of verification is needed to give credibility to the schemes, and the issue of what role chemical industry workers could play in developing and promoting the initiatives.