Among the GSC’s objectives are to promote the safe use and stewardship of silicones globally.
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Industry Stewardship
The global Silicones Industry is committed to the responsible use of silicones and international environmental stewardship and extensively studies the human health and environmental impacts of its products. The industry evaluates the science (link to safety research and science) behind its materials continuously and carries out robust environmental monitoring programs in diverse locations across the globe. More information on the monitoring initiatives of the industry can be found here.
Science advisory boards, which include nationally and internationally renowned scientists, provide independent reviews of the testing strategy, methodology, and findings of these studies when needed. Independent universities, qualified contract laboratories, and industry laboratories perform and review the tests and studies. Research results are regularly published in peer-reviewed journals.
Socioeconomic Impacts
Silicones manufacturing is a $16 billion global industry, with 2.1 million metric tons of formulated silicone products sold around the world and manufacturing operations located in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
Because silicones are vital ingredients in diverse numbers of final applications, they may be supplied directly to producers of final products, but more often they pass through several stages of what is known as the ‘value chain.’ Firms in each successive level progressively add value by transforming or modifying basic materials that eventually become products for final sale.
Due to their role as components, silicones fuel economic growth in two ways: through the jobs created in the silicones industry and through the boost they give to industries that rely on silicone components.
Direct manufacturing and indirect manufacturing of silicones along the value chain is a major source of employment.
Almost 25,000 people across the globe are directly employed in silicones manufacturing.
It is estimated that up to 14 million employees globally may be involved in some form of economic activity that involves silicone products, whether formulating, distributing, integrating silicones into larger components, or selling products containing silicones.
It is estimated that sales of silicone-containing products along the supply chain total approximately $42 billion across the globe.
