Risk communication strategies in the chemical industry in Spain : An examination of the web content of companies on issues related to chemical risk

Purpose – The aim is to study how the chemical industry in Tarragona (Spain) uses the internet to communicate with its community on issues relating to chemical risk and the impact of the chemical industry on the environment, health and safety. Design/methodology/approach – A specific methodology was defined allowing the corporate websites of the chemical industry to be studied. A content analysis methodology was used, searching the information that exists on the corporate websites of the most significant trade associations and chemical companies in the Tarragona conglomerate. Findings – The results suggest that there are some common characteristics of the chemical industry strategy in providing information on their corporate websites about the chemical risk and the impact of the chemical industry: a tendency to globalise the information about these issues, the maximisation of the positive concepts such as safety and commitment, and the minimisation of the negative concept of risk. Research limitations/implications – The study was carried out on a small number of companies, thus the results cannot be considered statistically representative of the entire chemical industry in Spain. In addition, the Tarragona population was not asked for their views on these corporate websites. Originality/value – The results show the treatment of information concerning chemical risk in the most important trade associations and companies in the sector, the state of information concerning chemical risk on the corporate websites of such organisations, and the risk communication strategy of these companies through the internet. It also presents the design of a specific methodology suitable for analysing the information available on chemical risk on the corporate websites of companies, institutions and organisations of any kind.