220
9 Societal Dialogue on Risks and Benefits
support the third and final guiding principle of integrated development: social
acceptability. Risk-benefit dialogue aims to do, quite simply, exactly what it sounds
like—promote dialogue discussing the risks and benefits of a chemical technology
among the stakeholders who are potentially affected by it.
Even with the best safety experts involved in the development of a product or
process, it should never be assumed that the larger stakeholder community would
not be able to understand and contribute to determining the acceptability of a
risk. Societal dialogue should be implemented to support society’s understanding
of a risk and help stakeholders view relevant protection goals and technology as
a shared responsibility. Gaining the public’s trust and acceptance of a product or
process early on can address existing or potential future concerns that could ruin
a company’s reputation. Achieving this, however, can be a complex task requiring
significant effort, especially for new products that society is not yet familiar with. It
demands a dedication to transparency and the willpower to bring stakeholders into
the discussion and keep them involved.
The risks and benefits that need to be considered in the dialogue are often not hard
facts. Purely technical risk calculations that often come to mind when talking about
risk (e.g., based on probability and impact) are just one way of presenting risks.
Since risks are difficult for humans to rationally perceive, subjective differences in
the definition and assessment of risks will also always exist across stakeholders (see
Chap. 2). This is exactly where the risk-benefit dialogue plays an important role.
In the past, societal dialogue has largely focused on discussing short-term, acute
risks such as chemical factory accidents (see a list of examples in Appendix A).
These highly visible events led to noticeable, localized damage to human and
environmental health. Recently, topics such as climate change and widespread
marine plastic pollution have also become increasingly visible, highly discussed
topics. Concern from stakeholders has created increasing pressure for regulators
and industry to make changes to address them.
However, unlike factory accidents and marine plastic litter, the presence of
hazardous chemicals in drinking water, consumer products, or food is usually not
visible at all to the naked eye. At the same time, this chemical pollution may
also pose long-term, chronic risks with damage that might not be discovered until
decades after they begin. Encouraging stakeholders to discuss risks they cannot see
and may not feel the full consequences of for many years is a more difficult but still
very important undertaking. Ongoing research into the potential scale of adverse
effects on human health from chronic chemical exposure highlights that ignoring
these less visible risks could have significant, global consequences.
This chapter introduces the risk-benefit dialogue as an important method for both
the chemical industry and wider society. It discusses the diverse stakeholders that
can be involved, introduces ways to consider the variety of viewpoints that can exist,
and provides guidance on communicating risks and managing risk-benefit dialogues
depending on the case for its use. Further, in-depth discussion and guidance on
facilitating and promoting societal dialogue can be found in key literature from
several discussion papers and project outcomes cited throughout the chapter.
9 Societal Dialogue on Risks and Benefits
support the third and final guiding principle of integrated development: social
acceptability. Risk-benefit dialogue aims to do, quite simply, exactly what it sounds
like—promote dialogue discussing the risks and benefits of a chemical technology
among the stakeholders who are potentially affected by it.
Even with the best safety experts involved in the development of a product or
process, it should never be assumed that the larger stakeholder community would
not be able to understand and contribute to determining the acceptability of a
risk. Societal dialogue should be implemented to support society’s understanding
of a risk and help stakeholders view relevant protection goals and technology as
a shared responsibility. Gaining the public’s trust and acceptance of a product or
process early on can address existing or potential future concerns that could ruin
a company’s reputation. Achieving this, however, can be a complex task requiring
significant effort, especially for new products that society is not yet familiar with. It
demands a dedication to transparency and the willpower to bring stakeholders into
the discussion and keep them involved.
The risks and benefits that need to be considered in the dialogue are often not hard
facts. Purely technical risk calculations that often come to mind when talking about
risk (e.g., based on probability and impact) are just one way of presenting risks.
Since risks are difficult for humans to rationally perceive, subjective differences in
the definition and assessment of risks will also always exist across stakeholders (see
Chap. 2). This is exactly where the risk-benefit dialogue plays an important role.
In the past, societal dialogue has largely focused on discussing short-term, acute
risks such as chemical factory accidents (see a list of examples in Appendix A).
These highly visible events led to noticeable, localized damage to human and
environmental health. Recently, topics such as climate change and widespread
marine plastic pollution have also become increasingly visible, highly discussed
topics. Concern from stakeholders has created increasing pressure for regulators
and industry to make changes to address them.
However, unlike factory accidents and marine plastic litter, the presence of
hazardous chemicals in drinking water, consumer products, or food is usually not
visible at all to the naked eye. At the same time, this chemical pollution may
also pose long-term, chronic risks with damage that might not be discovered until
decades after they begin. Encouraging stakeholders to discuss risks they cannot see
and may not feel the full consequences of for many years is a more difficult but still
very important undertaking. Ongoing research into the potential scale of adverse
effects on human health from chronic chemical exposure highlights that ignoring
these less visible risks could have significant, global consequences.
This chapter introduces the risk-benefit dialogue as an important method for both
the chemical industry and wider society. It discusses the diverse stakeholders that
can be involved, introduces ways to consider the variety of viewpoints that can exist,
and provides guidance on communicating risks and managing risk-benefit dialogues
depending on the case for its use. Further, in-depth discussion and guidance on
facilitating and promoting societal dialogue can be found in key literature from
several discussion papers and project outcomes cited throughout the chapter.