The ChemStewards programme, operated by the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association (SOCMA) in the US, is awarded to companies which can demonstrate that they comply with federal laws and regulations covering environmental, health, safety and security.
“ChemStewards was created from industry's commitment to reducing the environmental footprint left by member's facilities,” said ASI in a statement. The scheme assesses a company’s activities in areas such as chemical process safety (e.g. thermal hazard analysis), exposure assessment and mitigation programmes, operator safety and waste management.
The accreditation “dovetails very nicely with the recent addition of a process safety laboratory here at Ash Stevens," said Dr Stephen Munk, president and CEO at the company. It has invested more than $15m in its 30,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility - located in Riverview, Michigan, over the past five years.
The ChemStewards programme has been in operation since 2005, and SOCMA said recently that more than 80 per cent of its member companies had undergone an on-site audit, the final step before certification, by the end of 2008.
SOCMA is the US-based trade association of batch and custom manufacturers, which includes contract manufacturers of pharmaceutical intermediates and APIs. ChemStewards certification is a requirement of joining the group.
SOCMA claims ChemStewards is the only certification system designed specifically for companies operating in the batch, custom and specialty chemicals industry.