Sasol Limited Sustainability Report 2021 - Book - Page 23
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SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE AGAINST OUR FOCUS AREAS: SAFE AND ENDURING OPERATIONS (CONTINUED)
Product stewardship: Initiatives
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Operation Clean Sweep (OCS)
Risk management
Striving to ensure that our polymer pellets are manufactured, transported and stored responsibly, this
year we became a signatory to OCS, the first polymer producer in South Africa to do so. OCS is a voluntary
international stewardship programme designed to promote and implement good practices towards
achieving zero polymer pellet, flake, and powder loss.
Sasol follows a risk-based approach to manage SHE risks using the bowtie methodology. In 2021,
we focused on two product stewardship areas, namely the unintended use of Sasol product and
the loss of product quality. After engaging with stakeholders in numerous risk workshops, we
identified and developed more than 30 controls.
We undertook various activities to ensure the continued success of OCS, including internal assessments
of our production facilities; education and awareness sessions for targeted employees; pledge signing by
our operations employees; and by developing tracking tools and procedures. The assessments identified
potential opportunities, some of which we have already started developing and implementing. These include
the installation of sieves at key points to trap pellets at the source instead of relying on secondary and
tertiary containment systems. By doing this, we also protect the quality of pellets, improving their reuse
options.
We also started tracking and investigating all product stewardship incidents to establish a baseline
to inform future performance targets.
We understand that the broader downstream logistics value chain is also critical to ensure the containment
of Sasol’s polymers and we plan to engage all external service providers with a view to ultimately
getting them to become OCS signatories. We were pleased to report that 95% of our South African
road transporters and 100% of our South African warehouses signed the OCS pledge. This is not only
an achievement for Sasol but also for the broader South African polymer industry and ultimately the
environment. The signing of the pledge and receipt of the certificate are depicted in the photographs below.
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Logistics - clearing and forwarding agents
Sasol works closely with clearing and forwarding agents to improve the SHE impacts of material during its
transportation to our sites. In training sessions with our agents, we shared best practice on the storage,
handling and transportation of both hazardous and low-hazard chemicals and worked to ensure that our agents
understand our requirements for the safe storage and transportation of chemicals. The key message was the
importance of using the services of reliable transporters who follow reputable management systems such as SQASAfrica to ensure safety, health and protection of the environment during product transportation.
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Responsible Care® Awards
Responsible Care® is a voluntary commitment by the global chemical industry to drive continuous improvement and achieve
excellence in environmental, health and safety and security performance. As a Responsible Care® signatory, we commit to safe
chemicals managements throughout a product’s life cycle while ensuring the chemistry contributes to society and benefits the
environment.
CAIA Responsible Care® COVID-19 Award: Sasol South Africa’s COVID-19 Response Programme
As COVID-19 spread to South Africa, we coordinated an immediate response to the sudden demand for hand sanitisers and
by April 2021, in excess of one million litres of hand sanitiser had been produced jointly by Sasol’s Research and Technology
laboratories through our collaboration with InnoVenton at Nelson Mandela University as well as by KSM Chemicals. Working
closely with the respective health departments in South Africa and Mozambique, as well as with other corporates, we ensured
the donation of this hand sanitiser to public institutions, hospitals, clinics and low-income communities across both countries.
We also sponsored jet fuel to repatriate South African citizens; petrol and diesel to the military and the police and hydrogen to
field hospitals. In November 2020, the Chemicals Allied Industry Association (CAIA) recognised Sasol’s contribution with the
award of the CAIA Responsible Care® COVID-19 award.
VCI’s National Responsible Care® Contest: Sasol Brunsbüttel
Water Reduction Innovation
In October 2020, VCI (the German Chemicals Industry
Association) awarded Sasol with the above mentioned prize
for a water saving project, which reduces wastewater by
substituting the ring liquid of vacuum pumps in a vacuum
generation plant. This conversion eliminates the need for using
fresh water in the pumps, saving 2 200 cubic meters of water
per month, which is equivalent to the average consumption of
150 households of four people. Previously, the performance
of the corresponding vacuum system could only be maintained
by constantly adding fresh water. By switching the ring liquid
of the vacuum pumps to an organic liquid, which is available
directly from Sasol, we are making an important contribution
to conserving resources and reducing costs at the same time.
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Sasol Sustainability Report 2021