Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association (GPCA) to address Sustainability at the Fourth Annual GPCA Forum

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the first time, the Fourth Annual GPCA Forum will dedicate an entire afternoon to sustainable practices and tools to drive sustainability. The breakout session, titled Pursuing Sustainability in the Chemical Industry, will address the necessity of sustainability in the chemical industry as a problem solver to society and of implementing sustainable development as part of a company’s long-term growth strategy.

“Breaking through the crisis to pursue sustainable growth”

In line with the theme of this year's Forum "Breaking through the crisis to pursue sustainable growth", the final concluding session to be held at 3:00 pm on December 10, 2009 features experts from the industry highlighting various aspects of sustainability in the industry and its relevance to the growth of the petrochemicals industry in the region and internationally. The session will also focus on adopting Responsible Care within the region’s petrochemicals and chemicals industry.

Dr. Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, Secretary General, GPCA will open the session, which features experts in the field of sustainability: Cal Dooley, President and CEO, American Chemistry Council; Laurence Jones, Vice President, Corporate Support, Borouge; Peter Saling, Head of Eco-Efficiency Analysis, BASF SE; and Grant Little, Senior Project Originator, Masdar.

The speakers will talk on the following topics:

• Delivering Solutions to the Sustainability Challenge via Responsible Care
• The Role of Plastics in Driving Sustainability
• Carbon Management and Sustainability: The BASF Case Study
• A Middle East Perspective of Carbon Management

Delegates will have the opportunity to engage in an interactive discussion with speakers at a 45-minute panel discussion that will follow the presentations.

Responsible Care is the chemical industry’s global voluntary initiative under which companies, through their national associations, work together to continuously improve their health, safety and environmental performance, and to communicate with stakeholders about their products and processes. The concept has existed for more than 20 years and has been widely recognized by the international community. Responsible Care is implemented in about 53 countries and regions. The session will seek to answer key questions related to this strategic concept. It aims to highlight the fact that the companies that are focused on being sustainable are companies that have the greatest chance of being successful in the long term.

The breakout session on sustainability takes place from 3:00-5:00 pm on 10 December 2009 as part of the Fourth Annual GPCA Forum to be held December 8-10, 2009 at the InterContinental Festival City, Dubai, UAE.

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources H.E. Ali Al-Naimi, who is also the Chairman of Saudi Aramco, will deliver the opening keynote address at the Forum. Bahrain’s Central Bank Governor H.E. Rasheed M. Al-Maraj will address the Forum on the second day, about “Financing Opportunities and Risks for Mideast Petrochemical and energy Projects in a Global Crisis”.

Other key speakers at the GPCA Forum include are: Stephen Pryor, President, ExxonMobil Chemical; Klaus Engel, Chairman, Evonik Industries; Brad Bourland, Chief Economist and Managing Director, Proprietary Investment, Jadwa Investments; Greg Garland, President and CEO, Chevron Phillips Chemical; Paul A. Laudicina, Chairman and Managing Director, A.T. Kearney; and Mark Garrett, CEO, Borealis.

About the Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association

Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), the first such industry association in the Middle East, has grown from strength to strength since its inception in March 2006, steering the regional industry towards a whole new era of co-operation. As the regions’ Petrochemicals and Chemicals Industry’s representative body, GPCA aims to enhance the role of the region in international debate and policy making to facilitate regional co-operation, and to ensure that growth is both sustainable and socially responsible. GPCA’s mission is to offer its members networking opportunities through various platforms to meet and share knowledge; exchange insights and expertise and advocate the development, growth and prosperity of the petrochemicals and chemicals industry and related businesses in the Gulf. Additional information is available at www.gpca.org.ae.

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Other key contacts:

• For the latest event information and to register, visit www.chemweek.com/gpca or call +1 (212) 621-4978.
• For sponsorship and exhibition opportunities, please contact Dana Carey at dcarey@chemweek.com or +1 (212) 621-4972.