product stewardship

ExxonMobil is dedicated to minimizing the risks and impacts associated with the manufacture, use, and disposal of our products. Our priority is to continue to produce essential commodities in a manner that preserves and protects human health, safety, and the environment. We actively identify and evaluate potential risks to ensure minimal effects on both people and the environment, while improving product performance. To ensure that our products are used in a safe manner, we communicate potential risks and specify proper product management processes to consumers, third parties, and the public.

Product Life Cycle and Risk Assessment
To assess potential risks associated with chemical substances, we developed processes to understand potential accumulation of our products and by-products in the environment and humans. ExxonMobil recently developed new computer-based tools to predict the environmental behavior and potential hazards of our products. Computer models are used to better understand product characteristics such as persistence and accumulation in air, water, or soil as well as toxicity to bacteria and fish. These tools help us predict potential risks to human health, safety, and the environment and improve the design of our products. Findings are used to improve product design through use of less hazardous materials. For example, ExxonMobil’s Lubricants and Specialties organization developed a commercial vehicle engine lubricant formulation to improve environmental performance by reducing sulfur, ash, and phosphorous content without sacrificing operational performance.

Product Safety
Recently, several regulatory and scientific reviews in the United States and Europe confirmed the safety of our two high-molecular-weight phthalate plasticizers and concluded that no further measures were needed to regulate the use of these products beyond the limited restrictions that already apply in toy manufacturing. If we learn that our products, in specific applications, do not meet the safety standards established by our policy, we discontinue selling the products in those applications.

Global Responsible Care Charter
ExxonMobil Chemical Company is a signatory of the International Council of Chemical Association’s Global Responsible Care Charter. Through OIMS, we are continuing our efforts to improve our safety, health, and environmental performance; manage chemical safety in a risk-based approach supported by sound scientific information; and facilitate the continued application of Responsible Care principles across the business value chain.