Prederi with Cobalt Institute

The Cobalt Institute (CI) is a trade association comprising of a wide and varied global membership. The influence of government regulations and industry, coupled with the demands and interests of members, has seen CI encounter increased challenges. In addition, CI is faced with the trials of implementing the strictest and most complex regulations in the world – EU Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH).

REACH addresses the production and use of chemical substances, and their potential impacts on both human health and the environment. Highly complex and hugely important for the EU, REACH is the strictest law to date regulating chemical substances and will affect industries throughout the world.

CI partnered with Prederi to undertake a undertake a strategic review with the aim to meet immediate needs and future world-wide challenges.

Through collaboration, and the mix of both scientific and management knowledge, CI and Prederi developed a series of recommendations to members, redefining the future of CI. The external environment and marketplace required the organisation to be more proactive.

Prederi enabled this vision through a combination of top down analysis, external market impact and bottom up resource capacity and skills analysis. At the same time, we worked closely with senior management, using a blend of workshops, coaching and mentoring in management techniques and personal development.

We measured, that two thirds of the CI work, was reactive to the market and demands placed on them. The external environment is such, that the organisation needed to turn into a proactive body, becoming the leading figure head which shapes the industry rather than an inert body responding to it. This meant Members had to agree to a new structure, more staff, and an increased budget. To ensure that CI continued to have a significant role in the future of cobalt, both politically and strategically, the organisation needed to invest in their people, skills and knowledge.

We further proposed that with the implementation of REACH registration the timing was right to merge the CoRC (Cobalt REACH Consortium Ltd.) into the business. This would achieve further efficiencies, and develop a new positive organisational culture, which is fundamental to business effectiveness.

The impact of our work, resulted in membership support for an organisational merger, a new corporate structure, new senior management roles to fill existing skills gap, and, increased revenue to enable more capacity at various levels across the organisation. Our targeted training and coaching also had a significant impact, with positive differences made in behavioural change and style, changing the work place culture and improving performance both internally and externally.

CI has been integral to the Cobalt industry for over 60 years and it will now grow and develop with a greater global focus than ever before, making valuable contributions to the future of sustainable, technological and industrial development of living standards world-wide.

View the Prederi profile in the MCA Members Directory.