Piecing together the 'enviro-management' puzzle: Industrial Coatings Committee helps launch integrated program.

FOR SOME TIME now the NPCA, along with technical experts in the paint and coatings industry, has contemplated the development of a management program to integrate environmental, health and safety concerns into corporate planning and decision-making.

The process has not been rapid, primarily because the NPCA's goal was to construct a program that recognizes and accommodates the diversity of industry, while providing genuine support on increasingly complex health, safety and environmental issues. Initially dubbed "Core Leadership," it has now evolved into a full plan of action called the "Environmental Management Initiative" or EMI.

By way of background, other parts of the chemical industry, each with their own particular culture and perspective, have preceded the NPCA in developing their own initiatives. The Chemical Manufacturers Association (CMA) Responsible Care [R] program is a management system that uses continuous improvement techniques to move its members through a hierarchy of program management levels.

While Responsible Care has served as a model for other industry groups considering such programs, it is tailored to the relatively homogeneous group of large chemical producers that make up the CMA membership. Other trade …