Finding growth through dangerous goods compliance

The rules governing the transport of dangerous chemicals, whether by air, road or sea are complicated and sometimes difficult to navigate. But too often compliance is seen as a tick box rather than a growth lever. The transport of dangerous chemicals is rightly highly regulated, and when something goes wrong in transport, there will of course be the regulator investigation and potential punishment. However, beyond any punishment comes the reputational costs. An incident where someone is at clear fault will produce its own news agenda – and in the age of social media and digital news, that will continue to haunt a company, appearing whenever someone googles their name. The greatest asset to an established organisation is its brand. It is what customers know, engage with and trust. In the chemical industry, brands are safest when they are seen as dependable and effective. In an age where pressure on business costs is tight – compliance is a risk most can’t take. Using a range of dangerous goods incidents, this session will go through what happened, what went wrong, and the lessons we can learn. It will make the argument that whilst many see compliance in the chemical sector as a tick box and a hindrance to business, reframing it to demonstrate the wider business impact will help to identify needs, prioritise actions, and ultimately help to protect brands and deliver business growth.

Sam Mohr is a qualified Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser and responsible for business development at Peter East. He has a background in communications. Before moving into Dangerous Goods, Sam spent 10 years working in public relations, representing several major technology and logistics companies during that time. At Peter East, Sam advises on dangerous goods compliance and helps customers with their dangerous goods transport challenges.