Science-based approach

Sustainability is a complex subject. Making wise decisions about sustainability requires reliable information and a science-based approach.

At ExxonMobil Chemical, that science-based approach extends to all aspects of how we manage our business, including strategy development, internal operations and product offerings. As it relates to product offerings, our science-based approach includes a commitment to product stewardship, lifecycle assessments and risk assessments.

Product stewardship
Product stewardship encompasses everything from product testing for toxicology and environmental impacts to working with customers on the safe use of our chemicals. It reflects our commitment to developing and bringing to market new products with environmentally preferred characteristics. Downgauged plastics , longer-life tires and low-toxicity fluids are just a few recent examples of that innovation.

Risk assessments
The company also conducts science-based risk assessments for all of its products. A risk assessment is a structured and scientific approach to gathering and analyzing data and information related to toxicity, exposure assessment and dose-response to characterize potential risks.

To ensure that our products are safe for their intended use, more than 100 scientists perform rigorous product evaluations that consistently apply a defined process. Over the past 10 years, the company has spent more than $100 million on efforts to support product safety. Jayflex™ phthalate plasticizers , for example, are among the industry’s most extensively tested chemicals.

Involvement in industry efforts
Another important part of the company’s support of a science-based approach is working with industry trade groups and regulatory agencies to promote the use of best-available risk science, improved public participation processes and independent, expert peer review of agency risk assessments.

One example of that effort is the Long-Range Research Initiative (LRI), which focuses on developing new and better technical models and risk assessment techniques. LRI principles include:

• Scientific excellence - Support will be given to research that applies the most rigorous scientific principles.
• Open process, results and action - The research process will be open and transparent, with timely publication of the results expected.
• Fair and unbiased conduct - Sponsors will not influence the conduct of research, and the research process will be conducted in a fair and unbiased manner that prevents conflicts of interest and protects against bias in decision-making.

One focus of LRI efforts has been the U.S. EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). IRIS contains the EPA’s scientific positions on potential adverse human health effects of chemical substances found in the environment. IRIS currently provides information on health effects associated with chronic (or lifetime) exposure to more than 540 chemical substances, and the IRIS database has become the primary chemical health risk database used by federal, state and international regulatory bodies.