Effects of Sustainable Business Networks on the Environmentally Sound Management of Chemicals in Zimbabwe

Despite the formulation of policy frameworks and awareness on hazardous chemical management, practical implementation at organisational level remains a challenge in Zimbabwe. Participation in inter-organisational networks has been shown to have a catalytic role in some contexts. Sustainable business networks such as the Business Council for Sustainable Development Zimbabwe (BCSDZ) have undertaken programmes to promote safe chemical management and chemical leasing. This research paper assesses the effects of sustainable business networks on circular economy (CE) through implementation of safe chemical management and chemical leasing programmes in Zimbabwe. The research paper is based on forty (40) companies drawn from the industrial, manufacturing and mining sectors in Zimbabwe. A total of 50% of the companies assessed were selected because they participated in the safe chemical management programme called responsible production toolkit training and chemical leasing training during the period of 2018 to 2023, whilst the other 50% selected were not participants in any chemical management initiative to provide a comparison group to enable causal inferences. The study employed direct observation of chemical management practices, interviews with key informants and content analysis. Barriers and challenges identified included high chemical intensity, higher proportion of chemical accidents, inadequate provision of personal protective equipment (PPE), lack of clear policies on chemical management, lack of adequate technical capacity on chemical management, use of foreign languages in some material safety data sheets (MSDS), incompatible chemical storage practices, lack of proper labelling of chemicals, inadequate implementation of chemical compatibility charts and inadequate documentation of successful case studies. Implementation of chemical risk assessment increased from 20 to 70% due to network participation. Chemical inventorying implementation increased from 15 to 50% amongst firms that participated in safe chemical management programmes. Chemical labelling practices increased from 55 to 85% due to increased participation in network-induced chemical management programmes. Chemical leasing implementation remained largely unchanged even with access to training. We conclude that network participation enhanced chemical management practices due to the implementation of the responsible production toolkit. However, the impact of network participation on adoption of chemical leasing is low in Zimbabwe due to external contextual factors such as policy, perception, legal and financial barriers.