10 Dec India Bromine Platform (IBP) – One Year of Collaborative Progress

The IBP, a joint cross-industry initiative of BSEF, India’s bromine industry and the Indian Chemical Council (ICC) started in 2019, organized their first virtual meeting on November 6th, 2020. The aim of this meeting was to discuss the milestones achieved by the group and set a roadmap for the next year taking into account the recent developments and the dynamic nature of the industry.

The meeting was divided into two sessions – one with the Safety Working Group of the IBP and the other with the Leadership Group. BSEF’s Secretary General Dr. Kevin Bradley and BSEF’s current Chair of the Board, K. Kannah, joined the Leadership Group discussions.

The Leadership Group Session – Steering Bromine Advocacy Efforts in India

The Leadership session explored the current scenario of Bromine in India and around the world. It kicked off with a synopsis of the state of IBP activities over the past year including a few key achievements like the Bromine Blue Book, Safe bromine handling related driver checklists in regional languages, the IBP’s own web-presence, etc. A majority of the IBP members are also now a part of Nicer Globe, a safe chemical transportation initiative being driven by ICC.

The IBP then took stock of several developments in India and the world related to the bromine industry to assess the situation and understand how the bromine industry can further contribute to the society through the IBP. These discussions were supplemented by global insights from the BSEF Leadership and ICC’s views on the state of the Indian chemical industry policy environment.

The group then brainstormed a few key initiatives which they could drive forward during the coming year:

1. Fire safety related stakeholder engagement
2. Position paper on BFRs
3. An overview of the Indian bromine industry’s initiatives via the IBP and related outreach with policy makers

The Safety Working Group Session – Propagating Best Practices of handling bromine

This IBP Safety Working Group has been working on several initiatives related to bromine safe handling best practices. The members brainstormed about the status of the current initiatives and the plan for the upcoming year. External experts were also invited to share their experience about the impact of safety from a technical standpoint as well business standpoint.

The group agreed upon initiatives which would be taken up in the coming months, some of which are:

1. Systematic Best Practice Sharing between member companies
2. Creation of an IBP Safety Training Module to harmonize the best practices in the industry
3. Enhance collaboration with ICC’s Nicer Globe platform

Over the past year the IBP with BSEF’s active collaboration has established a strong foundation of collaterals, networks and knowledge base through its various activities and efforts. With such regular interactions and a clear roadmap on initiatives, the IBP continues to drive forward the bromine industry in India.