Together for Sustainability


Together for Sustainability AISBL is a joint initiative of chemical companies, founded in 2011. It focuses on the promotion of sustainability practices in the chemical industry's supply chain, currently gathering 23 companies around a single standard of auditing and assessment.

Sustainability in chemical supply chains

Over the past few years sustainability aspects in the chemical industry have become more important and holistic. Nowadays, chemical companies’ measures focusing sustainability include apart from ecological aspects also social concerns and collaborative issues.
Today, it has been well accepted that the creation of sustainable chemical supply chains requires a joint effort beyond individual businesses. These efforts should integrate chemical companies, suppliers, customers as well as consumers.
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Stolze and Marc Müller of the University of St. Gallen summarize the development in the chemical industry in recent years as follows: “The scope of sustainability in the chemical industry has evolved from a firm-level construct with a strong focus on green aspects to a chain-level approach attempting to address the triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental elements.”

History

The Together for Sustainability initiative was founded in 2011 by BASF, Bayer, Evonik, Henkel, Lanxess, and Solvay. The objective was to develop a global supplier engagement program and improve their own sustainability sourcing practices in line with the United Nations Global Compact. Since January 2015, the TfS initiative is incorporated as an international non-profit association according to the Belgian law.
Since June 2012, TfS conducts assessments and audits by independent experts, as well as the early partnership with the French company EcoVadis, which provided with sustainability scorecards and benchmarks.
In May of 2019 Bertrand Conquéret, CPO of Henkel, was elected as president of the TFS.

Objectives

TfS has developed and implemented a global supplier engagement program that assesses sustainability sourcing practices, including ecological and social aspects. The focus in the supply chain of the member companies seeks to reduce inefficiencies and share best practices among the members' suppliers. Moreover TfS provides the framework for conducting assessments and audits across the chemical industry supply chain, organizes workshops, and provides e-learning tools.
The TfS approach consists of two core elements:
The TfS is governed by two main organs, the General Assembly and the Steering Committee.
The General Assembly is formed by all the Chief Procurement Officers of the member companies, and holds power over the direction and structure of the organization, as well as approving the decisions of the Steering Committee.
The Steering Committee, formed by six elected members of the General Assembly as well as the TfS president, is the executive council of the organization and decides upon its activities and projects.
Additionally, TfS has several Regional Operating Committees as well as, currently, four mission-specific work streams led and staffed by participants from the TfS member companies:
TfS’ headquarter is in Brussels. It manages the day-to-day affairs of the organization and stays in close contact with the representatives and coordinators of the member companies.
TfS is working towards partnership with several other chemical industry associations: American Chemistry Council, European Chemical Industry Council, German Chemistry Council, China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, Indian Chemical Council, and the Associação Brasileira da Indústria Química.

Members

Membership in the TfS is open to all companies in the chemical industry who subscribe to the United Nations Global Compact, Responsible Care, and show a commitment to sustainability. TfS membership has been growing steadily since its founding, and in May 2018 its members had a joint global turnover of € 313 Billion.
As of November 2018, TfS has 23 member companies.
CompanyHeadquartersYear of membership
AkzoNobelAmsterdam, Netherlands2013
ArkemaColombes, France2014
BASFLudwigshafen, Germany2011
BayerLeverkusen, Germany2011
BorealisVienna, Austria2017
BrenntagEssen, Germany2017
ClariantMuttenz, Switzerland2014
CovestroLeverkusen, Germany2015
DSMHeerlen, Netherlands2015
DuPontWilmington, Delaware, United States2017
EastmanKingsport, Tennessee, United States2015
EvonikEssen, Germany2011
HenkelDüsseldorf, Germany2011
ICLTel-Aviv, Israel2018
IFFNew York City, United States2015
LanxessCologne, Germany2011
MerckDarmstadt, Germany2014
SanofiParis, France2016
SolvayBrussels, Belgium2011
SyngentaBasel, Switzerland2015
UPMHelsinki, finland2018
WackerMunich, Germany2015
WanhuaYantai, China2019

Recognition