CBA: Consistently serving our members for nearly a century

The past few years have been challenging for the UK’s chemical supply chain industry. In addition to facing the global pandemic, the sector has had to contend with Brexit, the Russia-Ukraine war, and a host of other disruptions such as HGV driver shortages, raw materials shortages, massive energy price increases, and more. All Chemical Business Association (CBA) member companies felt the impact of these issues.

CBA has been the voice of the UK chemical supply chain industry for almost a century and while these disruptions brought many challenges, they also presented us with opportunities to find new and innovative ways to better serve our members.

Members helpdesk

To ensure our members are best supported and informed, CBA places the expertise of our in-house team at the disposal of all members through our helpdesk. Members can access guidance and advice on everything from regulatory and operational issues, to importing and exporting and customs formalities via the helpdesk at no cost.

The CBA is a very effective Trade Association, putting the interests of its members at the focus of its activities. Communication with members is essential and achieved. Members queries — of which, in today's ever-changing regulatory world, there are many — are answered quickly and effectively. Members much appreciate the support of the CBA's experienced and knowledgeable team.

In 2020, the helpdesk helped to resolve 438 queries. This was the highest total for ten years and a year-on-year increase of more than 40%. 2021, however, saw enquiries hitting new record highs, increasing by another 14% compared to 2020. With demand continuing to grow in 2022. CBA expanded access to the helpdesk by offering alternative contact methods. In addition to calling the helpdesk, members were able to email any queries to a dedicated address, while online meetings were hosted to address complex questions.??

Workshops, clinics, and training

CBA has always supported Its members by providing training in the form of workshops and seminars, which cover a wide range of subjects. In addition to our regular programme, we launched a new initiative of ‘Online Clinics’ and ‘Best Practice Workshops’ towards the end of 2021.

?“In 2022, over 2200 people attended the 48 events we delivered”

Whilst our Online Clinics covered a range of topics such as Plastic Packaging Tax, Controlled Drugs Regulatory Changes Awareness, The UK View: The Chemical Supply Chain Post-Brexit, and UK Reach Timeline Consultation, our Best Practice Workshops were aimed at sharing knowledge and best practice. Another new initiative launched in 2022 was our Member Engagement Days, where the subjects discussed varied immensely and included everything from the challenges facing the supply chain, to national highways information, UK REACH updates, carbon literacy knowledge, and even mental health awareness. Meanwhile, existing committees have been redefined and given a new sense of purpose. We also created a new ‘Trade & Business Committee’, which has welcomed guests from both the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Business and Trade .

“Half our events were free of charge for members”

Additionally, CBA collaborated with various organisations and in partnership with Strong & Herd LLP , we ran an online clinic to discuss and provide an overview to Customs Declaration System (CDS) – which will replace the Customs Handling of Import & Export Freight (CHIEF) system. We also joined forces with Strong & Herd LLP to support members who import animal, plant, and plant health products, with online training ahead of regulation changes.

"As long-standing members of the Chemical Business Association, Bowker are aware of the valuable support they provide in all areas of crisis management. From Emergency Support Workshops, to ensure business readiness, through to crucial support with industry-related crisis, their expertise, knowledge, and delivery methods have become a crucial part of many chemical supply chain businesses"

Then, in September, CBA offered Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser (DGSA) refresher training to members through its in-house DGSAs, while we have continued through until the end of this year covering subjects such as chemical weapons, load securing and marketing.

"The CBA is a very effective training body and offers many useful and informative courses. Since Brexit, the training sessions on all the changes, especially handling Imports and Exports, have been very well attended and are much appreciated by members. Safety training courses are vital for our industry and are recognised for their high quality of information"

Future focus

CBA is dedicated to shifting negative industry perceptions and tackling workforce challenges by encouraging young people to engage with the sector. In 2019, we introduced the Young Person’s Award with the aim of recognising excellence within the chemical supply chain. This year we also established a Future Council, which is aimed at getting the younger generation interested and involved in the chemical industry. As part of its activities, the Future Council launched a vlog in November to document its experiences at CHEMUKEXPO CHEM UK 2022 and to engage with and attract more young people to the industry.

Earlier this year, CBA also became an official partner of Generation Logistics , an industry-led campaign aimed at bringing industry together, shifting perceptions, and encouraging the next generation to optimise opportunities in the logistics industry.

Advocacy and lobbying – a global presence

Tremendous effort has gone into improving the CBA’s relationship with various government departments and we are now a key partner to government in many areas, including leading discussions on UK REACH.

"The CBA have developed important contacts with the appropriate government departments and have lobbied them when necessary, as well as often being consulted on many matters affecting our industry. For example, the CBA has been active over the shortage of drivers, Covid measures, and Reach (post Brexit)"

Together with stakeholders and other Associations, the CBA has been working tirelessly to make the Government aware of the impact of UK REACH, not only on the chemical industry supply chain and the wider chemical sector, but also on downstream users who were previously not within the scope of the regulation.

We saw the first significant breakthrough on this in December 2021, when the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) stated it would explore alternative arrangements for UK REACH registrations. At the same time, they advised their intention to consult separately on extending the deadlines and which subsequent consultation by DEFRA concluded on 1st September 2022.

In order to highlight the consultation, we hosted several oversubscribed UK REACH Online Clinics which, due to the importance of the issue for the industry, were open to members and non-members alike and during which the merits of the different proposed options were discussed.

The consultation received a significant number of submissions and of the known respondents, 20% were CBA members, while a further 15% of stakeholders attended our clinics, resulting in CBA’s preferred option being adopted.

We welcome the outcome which means, subject to legislation, timelines will be extended to October 2026, October 2028, and October 2030.

In addition to the CBA already forming part of the DIT Trade Advisory Group (TAG), its extensive industry involvement resulted in numerous invites to join other groups, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Domestic Advisory Group (DAG) and Civil Society Forum (CSF).

"The Chemical Business Association (CBA) works closely with the Department of International Trade (DIT) and is considered a vital Trade Association for the Chemicals sector. The CBA is a member of the DIT’s Chemicals Trade Advisory Group (TAG) and Chemical Trade Association Roundtable, representing their members and putting forward their thoughts and concerns on various issues to senior official and Ministers of the Department"

Our influential and leading position has meant that we have been able to successfully lobby for important changes on legislation that would otherwise have severely impacted the entire chemical industry, such as gaining agreement to revoke amendments to controlled drugs laws.

In December 2021, a legislative proposal was laid before Parliament by the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to strengthen controls on GBL and BDO. These changes were scheduled to come into force on 15 June 2022.

In order to highlight these changes, we ran two Online Clinics which were open to all – not just CBA members – and where we also had input and participation from the UK Home Office to highlight the licencing requirements for these controlled drugs.

As a result, it became apparent it would have a major, detrimental impact. Through our own impact assessments, we found at least 7,500 businesses across many industry sectors, including the automotive, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, foundries and printing industries, would be adversely affected by proposed controlled drugs licencing requirements, meaning many would exit the market altogether, or potentially even face closure and bankruptcy.

The CBA led and coordinated discussions with the Home Office and other stakeholders to raise not only the chemical industry’s concerns, but those of wider industry as a whole, resulting in the amendments being revoked in May. CBA continues to take the with the Home Office in an effort to reach an effective and workable solution.

Internationally, the CBA has engaged with governments, National Authorities and Trade Associations, and with groups and organisations such as the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) , the International Chemical Trade Association (ICTA) and the Group of Seven (G7) on a range of chemical supply chain subjects and matters, from security and regulation through to promoting trade and cooperation.

Sustainability

A top CBA priority is to lead and assist our members in their quest to become ever more sustainable. Over the last 30 years, we have been actively involved in the Responsible Care (RC) programme, a voluntary initiative that all CBA members commit to, which goes beyond legal and regulatory requirements to promote an ethical framework for the safe use and handling of chemical products.

In line with this, our annual luncheon in April saw the announcement of the Responsible Care Awards winners, awards set up by CBA as an industry-wide initiative promoting year-on-year improvements in health, safety, security, and environmental performance and on member companies’ interaction with their local communities.

We also recently published our vision for Responsible Care in the 21st Century, with the main objective being to demonstrate to society that the UK chemical supply chain is committed to the safe and sustainable management of chemicals.

Furthermore, several CBA employees have been certified as being Carbon Literate and we offered Carbon Literacy training to members throughout 2022. Once certified, people are qualified to teach this course, enabling member companies to roll out Carbon Literacy training across their teams.

Worldwide industry events and representation

Although we did not routinely attend exhibitions and conferences in years gone by, we have worked hard to establish the CBA as a key exhibition partner both here in the UK and overseas with great success.

During April, Douglas Leech represented CBA at a OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) workshop to develop guidelines for the road transportation of hazardous chemicals in Berlin. I also spoke at the Chemical Watch news & events by Enhesa UK Chemicals Regulations Conference 2022 in London.

In May, CBA was a Headline Industry Partner, and both exhibited and participated at CHEMUK 2022 in Birmingham. Whilst I was a keynote speaker, we also hosted two ‘Big Debates’ – Elaine McGavin presented What does the future hold for the Chemical Supply Chain? whilst Josh Leech addressed the issue of Attracting future talent for a sustainable Supply Chain. Karen Harvey and I attended Chemspec Europe in Frankfurt and where Karen presented on Unprecedented challenges for the Chemical Supply Chain.

“When we set out to launch the UK’s national chemical industry event, we of course wished to tap into the intelligence of the Chemical Business Association, as the representative body for the UK chemical supply chain. Four years on, it’s fair to say we now regard Tim, Karen, and the CBA team as part of the very ‘DNA’ of the event, reflecting their inexhaustible energy and input in helping us build an ever larger and more ambitious national event for the sector. Whether a guiding hand on ’content building’ and hosting of outstanding live debates around the ‘key’ issues which are challenging the industry, to providing invaluable advice and top-table industry introductions, the CBA team continue to go the extra mile, wherever they (crucially) feel it is a cause to the benefit of the sector!”

June and July were equally busy months for CBA staff, with Doug (The Impact of Exiting the EU on Chemical Safety, Storage and Warehousing), Elaine (Responsible Care for the 21st Century) and I (Supply Chain: Is the perfect storm over?) all presenting at Surfex in Coventry. Both Doug and I also represented CBA at another OPCW workshop on chemical security in Bangkok, Thailand.

"The CBA is an important partner and key stakeholder for BEIS in the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). As a member of the UK’s CWC Advisory Committee the CBA demonstrates its ongoing commitment to the CWC and this year it has made a significant contribution at a number of international conferences and workshops held by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The CBA’s support not only promotes the peaceful application of chemistry and demonstrates best practices in chemical safety and security, but it collectively helps to ensure that the UK maintains an active and influential contribution in this field"

There was a very brief pause in August with high levels of activity resuming in September on many different fronts. Doug was out in El Salvador, Central America with OPCW, and we were both out in Doha, Qatar at the 9th Annual Meeting of Chemical Industries Representatives and National Authorities. In November we supported the Department of International Trade’s International Trade Week, running a clinic with CBA affiliate member company Scitegrity on Chemicals Understanding and simplifying regulatory compliance, export controls and HTS Schedules.

In the same month I travelled to San Diego for the International Chemical Trade Association’s (ICTA) General Assembly and the Alliance for Chemical Distribution (ACD) Congress, whilst Karen Harvey and Vanessa Henshall represented CBA at Catalyst Science Discovery Centre to celebrate the successful completion of their project funded by the Welcome Trust.

Also in November Karen Harvey talked about the importance of trade associations for encouraging sustainability in the laboratory and for R&D at Lab Innovations and SCS Formulate , respectively where I also presented on sustainable supply chains.

On the back of this, many members of the CBA have participated in various exhibitions, events, and conferences, which has further raised the Association’s profile and has directly led to new members joining. In fact, CBA membership has reached its highest level ever – during 2022 alone the Association welcomed 23 new members and now has a 98% retention rate. Member engagement has also increased significantly.

The highlight on the events calendar was of course hosting CBA’s annual luncheon in April, where we welcomed almost 1000 guests after a Covid enforced break since 2019. Affectionately known as “Floggers”, it has for decades been a ‘must attend’ for anyone and everyone in the chemical supply chain. Our next Annual Lunch in April 2023 will be extra special as it when we will launch our 100th Anniversary celebrations.

Movers and shakers?

We have worked hard to change the previous management style and modify the internal structure to create a more diverse management team, as well as to encourage and allow staff members to flourish and develop professionally. This includes the creation of a ‘Core Services Department’ and a ‘Special Projects Department’ to better support members.

In line with this, the team has undergone some exciting changes over the past year. While ramping up activities, we recognised the need for more targeted member support and subsequently employed Josh Leech as a dedicated Member Services Representative to help with questions, events, and membership liaison. Lisa Robertson joined us as Supply Chain Lead soon after. More recently, we employed Danish Zaiful Azri Azri in the role of Regulatory and Supply Chain support.

In October, we modified the internal structure to create a more diverse management team, with Doug appointed as Special Projects Director and Elaine as Regulatory and Responsible Care Lead.

CBA sadly also had to say goodbye to stalwart Michael Cooper , Regulatory Affairs and Responsible Care Specialist, who retired in September following a 15-year career with CBA.

Voice of the chemical supply chain

As the voice of the chemical supply chain, we have taken every opportunity to raise the profile of both the CBA and the chemical supply chain industry, increase awareness of the Association’s lobbying and advocacy efforts, advance the CBA’s established reputation, boost its position as a thought leader and influencer, draw attention to the critical role that chemicals play in society, demonstrate the importance of chemicals to the economy, highlight the commitment of the chemical supply chain towards sustainability, showcase its support provided to members and the wider industry, thereby communicating the key benefits of CBA membership.

To achieve these objectives, we have worked closely with Shrewdd Marketing , a well-established business to business marketing company to identify and secure thought-leadership articles, comment pieces and interviews, tailoring the content to specific audiences with key messages for each. We recognise that communication is essential and work in conjunction with two online/print publications each month.

‘Outlook’ which contains general content, is distributed to over 1000 readers – including non-members – and ‘Update’ with technical and regulatory content that is purely for members. The latter is circulated to over 400 readers.

We also proactively sought opportunities to highlight the CBA as an authoritative voice on issues affecting the chemical supply chain industry and have achieved some impressive results. These efforts have been instrumental in further raising the Association’s profile and establishing the CBA as the leading industry authority for the chemical supply chain.?

Our willingness to be a voice for not only the chemical supply chain industry, but the wider chemical industry as whole, led to us being asked to provide comment on the BBC, ITV, and Sky, as well as other national and international news programmes.

Over the course of 2022, over 33 valuable in-depth feature articles have been secured in key horizontal and vertical market media channels. This cost-effective service resulted in outstanding return on investment (ROI), with the campaign delivering over ten times ROI to date.

"I belong to several Trade Associations and the CBA is the most active and importantly effective. The CBA has an excellent Chief Executive and team which is much appreciated by its members"

The approach has had an immense impact on our ability to not only raise the profile of the Association itself and the chemical supply chain industry it represents, but also to reinforce our position as a chemical industry thought leader and influencer. For example, we have grown our LinkedIn followers by 43%, to nearly 8000, in a little more than 10 months. We now also have accounts with TikTok and YouTube, and our Future Council videos on TikTok have already been viewed over 2000 times since we launched them in the middle of October.

Wider support

Societi Foundation , the UK Kawasaki Disease Foundation, was the charity chosen by our Chair Kate Mingay at our prestigious annual lunch in April. I am proud to say that an incredible ￡16,000 was raised for this worthwhile charity on the day. CBA and our members have since participated in various awareness campaigns and fund-raising initiatives for Societi, including participating in World Heart Day on 29th September.

"It has been our pleasure to work with the Chemical Business Association over the last year, having been invited by the Chair, Kate Mingay, to be the charity partner for the CBA in 2022. With a phenomenal heritage of 99 years of work and an unflinching passion to deliver on their members priorities throughout this time, we were simply delighted to be able to join members at their luncheon event in April this year, marking the start of our partnership"

On a more personal note, I was delighted to be invited to join the Society of Leadership Fellows , an ‘invitation only’ organisation, comprising of 250 members from all industries and sectors across the world.

The Society of Leadership Fellows was established by St George’s House in 2016 to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the House by HRH Prince Philip. We are privileged to be able to meet, work and stay at Windsor Castle where we explore different aspects of leadership and support each other in seeking to offer exceptional standards of leadership.

Over the past century, CBA has proven to be a steadfast partner that members can rely on for representation, training, guidance, and assistance on issues around trade, compliance, regulation, sustainability, and more. I am extremely proud to say that some of the association’s founding members remain to this day and they would be amazed to see the advances in technology and globalisation – although many of the reasons we were founded in 1923, are as relevant today as they were then.

We live in a very fast changing world and the CBA feels a very different place to how it did only a year ago, with new members of staff having joined our team, the introduction of many new initiatives, and record number of new members joining. This has not gone unnoticed, and we are delighted to have been shortlisted for four prestigious awards by our peers in the Trade Association Forum .

Thanks to the team’s good work over the years and the solid foundations, on which CBA was built, we are unwavering in our efforts to best serve and support our members. We pride ourselves on providing expert, hands-on support and regardless of current as well as future challenges, we will remain the voice of the chemical supply chain, advocating and lobbying at the highest levels – both at home and internationally – on behalf of our members.

For information on becoming a CBA member, visit https://www.chemical.org.uk/membership/