Dow Chemical Pilot of Total 'Business' Cost Assessment Methodology: A Tool to Translate EHS '..Right Things to Do' into Economic Terms (Dollars)

摘要

A group of somewhat diverse chemical companies have completed a collaboration focused on assessing the total cost associated with environmental, health, and safety aspects of chemical processing. This collaboration was enabled through AIChE's Center for Waste Reduction Technologies. Dow has actively piloted this tool since June 1999. These experiences have taken the form of focused workshops, and evolved towards an almost exclusive focus on costs/benefits that will be realized by the businesses. Thus the title Total "Business" Cost Assessment has emerged within Dow. Aligning the information available on externalities in a manner that supports meaningful decision-making within a company remains a significant challenge and has not been addressed in the Dow pilot effort. Key to the process is the engagement of a multifunctional team in the workshop to convert the ideas and issues understood to the "the right thing to do" into economic metrics. This methodology was applied to the EH&S 2005 goals established in 1996 and resulted in establishing a "fuller" economic benefit for achieving these goals which was almost twice as much as originally estimated. The businesses and functions within Dow appling TBCA are finding the results deliver improved understanding of their EH&S value proposition, which enhances the decision-making process.