The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) on Feb. 14 released the 2017 State of the Fertilizer Industry report, TFI’s effort to quantify the industry’s performance on environmental, economic, and social indicators, and its contribution to meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals of zero hunger, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, industry innovation and infrastructure, and climate action.
The report was created using data contributed voluntarily by 33 TFI member companies in 2017 regarding products produced and distributed in 2016. TFI said those companies represented the entire fertilizer distribution chain and accounted for 94 percent of U.S. nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium production capacity, as well as 33 percent of the U.S. retail sector.
The report states that the fertilizer industry is two time as safe as peer industries, with its lost time incident rate dropping in 2016 to 0.8 cases per 100 full-time equivalent employees. Fertilizer companies also provided more than 2,800 hours of local emergency responder training to protect employees and surrounding communities, and invested nearly $1 million in 4R nutrient stewardship research.
The report also states that the contributing companies captured and reused 25 percent of GHG emissions; invested $4.3 billion to advance innovation, improve infrastructure, and enhance the sustainable production of fertilizer; reclaimed 1.4 billion gallons of water and recycled another 461.9 billion gallons of treated wastewater; captured 111 million gigajoules of waste heat to generate onsite energy or return energy to the grid; and invested in new railcars and shipped 19.8 million tons safely and efficiently by rail.
“Our 2017 State of the Fertilizer Industry report demonstrates our parallel commitment to safe colleagues and neighbors, a strong economy, and environmental conservation and protection,” said TFI President Chris Jahn. “Half of all food grown around the world today is made possible by commercial fertilizer. As demand continues to grow, we are committed to ensuring that our products are produced, stored, and used in a sustainable way.”