Saudi diversified chemicals giant SABIC and DuPont Sustainable Solutions (DSS) have announced a collaboration to enhance the Riyadh-based company’s environment, health and safety (EHS) performance.

A statement from DuPont said the move seeks to position SABIC as a world leader in the EHS arena and is in line with its long-term 2025 strategy.

Ahmed Al-Shaikh, executive vice-president, Corporate Manufacturing, SABIC, said: “SABIC’s EHS achievements in recent years have been impressive. And yet, there is a strong desire within the leadership team to reach the next level in EHS culture maturity, as outlined in the SABIC 2025 strategy.”

Khaled Saleh Al-Kharboush, corporate EHS general manager and project executive, added: “This effort is extremely important. We have chosen to partner with DuPont Sustainable Solutions to help us with our transformation; we trust that they can provide our company with solutions to help us achieve a world-class standard.”

SABIC said that in line with its 2025 strategy, it is becoming more global and more distinctive in its product offering, and more integrated in its operations. While the company has long been committed to a rigorous EHS performance, it has decided to invest further in becoming a world leader. The EHS transformation project will facilitate this change by strengthening operational risk management, leadership capabilities and effectiveness of systems and processes to manage EHS performance. The DuPont engagement is an integral part of this improvement process.

Johan van der Westhuyzen, MD, DuPont Sustainable Solutions – Turkey, Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, said: “DuPont remains committed to SABIC. We will deploy our best capabilities, owner-operator experience and know-how to ensure the success of this project. We look forward to working with SABIC to identify and mitigate the specific risks, which will ultimately allow them to achieve sustainable improvement.”