QATAR Petrochemical Company (Qapco) has launched its second annual sustainability report.

2013 was a landmark year for the company as in terms of performance the company improved in several areas including environmental efficiency, production, and community investment, Qapco noted.

Over the past three years, Qapco has reduced flaring by 80 per cent and its greenhouse gas emissive intensity by 20 per cent and slashed water consumption intensity by 17 per cent, said vice chairman and chief executive officer Dr Mohammed Yousef Al Mulla, who launched a book containing the report at a ceremony at the company’s Mesaieed office.

In 2013, Qapco celebrated 15.4 million exposure hours without a lost time incident (LTI) for its staff, its strongest safety performance on record. “Qapco places the safety of every person at its facilities as its top responsibility and priority and is committed to ensuring that all employees and contractors fully embrace Qapco’s safety culture,” it said.

The report highlighted that during the year Qapco strongly supported local companies, raising its local procurement ratio to 81 per cent. “Qapco developed sustainable procurement policies, based on the belief that doing business with local suppliers and creating long-term partnerships holds many advantages. Therefore, where feasible, Qapco preferences Qatar-based suppliers because it sees the value it creates for the company, the SMEs, and the State of Qatar. Contributing to sustainable growth and diversification of the local economy is essential for the company,” it said.

Qapco also achieved a staff Qatarisation level of 30.2 per cent. The company increased its community investment by 164 per cent in 2013 by supporting three key areas: employee and family welfare, education, and sports.

In 2013, through collaboration with local and international partnerships, its R&D team dug deep into potential applications for petrochemical products. The company uses focused partnerships with Qatar’s most prominent universities as the launching point for its research activities.

Dr Al Mulla holding a book containing the 2013 Qatar Sustainability Report which he officially released

2013 also marked the full year of operations of Qapco’s new LDPE 3 plant, which helped increase its total LDPE production by approximately 40 per cent  and resulted in its achieving its highest ever polyethylene production of 1.282 million tonnes, further strengthening its leadership on the global petrochemical scene. As production reached new heights, Qapco’s revenues increased by 15.6 per cent.

The report aligns with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and has adopted the newest GRI G4 guidelines, the company said. It touches on more than 125 key performance indicators covering the whole scope of its operations

“Our journey towards understanding and communicating our impacts is moving forward with more energy and direction than ever before … Growing stronger is not only a representation of our past success, but also a signal of our future as we progress with putting sustainability into action,” said Dr Al Mulla.

The report is part of the company’s involvement in the Qatar Energy and Industry Sustainable Development Industry Reporting (SDIR) Programme conducted under the patronage of Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry. 

Dr Mulla added: “We are proud to participate in the SDIR Programme in order to propel sustainable development within our company. The SDIR Programme catalyses our company and the sector’s leadership on sustainability by providing a platform for collaboration and comparison.”

Qapco was established in 1974 and is a joint venture between Industries Qatar (80 per cent) and Total Petrochemicals (20 per cent). It is one of the largest producers of LDPE in the region. LDPE is a widely used plastic with applications such as food packaging, cables, agricultural films and toys. It plays a key role in the development of green building solutions. The LDPE produced by Qapco is a high-quality polymer safe for food-contact and complies with all local, EU and US FDA standards related to food packaging safety.

The company is involved in a number of joint ventures that include Qatofin, Qatar Vinyl Company and Qatar Plastic Products Company, making it a regional petrochemical powerhouse.