A TOXIC INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP (TIP)

This case study describes a corporate crisis involving Treeton Chemical, a U.S.-based firm, and its Italian acquisition, Tossico Chemical. The venture, Treeton-Tossico, became the center of an international scandal after it was revealed that the company improperly exported 650 tons of toxic waste to Nigeria in 1987, leading to severe legal, financial, and reputational threats from the Italian government and European environmental coalitions.

• In late 1987, Treeton Chemical, a U.S. firm with $8 billion in sales, acquired a 55% stake in Tossico Chemical, an Italian specialty chemicals producer, for $319 million. The acquisition was part of a strategy to gain 'critical mass to become world class' and expand into the fast-growing Mediterranean basin markets.
• The chemical industry in Europe faced a legitimacy crisis in the late 1980s due to a rise in 'green' movements and public hostility. In West Germany, 45% of surveyed individuals were hostile to the chemical industry, and roughly half of all Europeans called for stricter regulation of chemical manufacturing and disposal.
• Treeton-Tossico was implicated in the improper dumping of 4,000 tons of industrial waste in Koko, Nigeria. Specifically, former President Vincenzo Tanassi revealed that in October 1987, the company used brokers Ecomar and Jelly Wax to export 650 tons of toxic waste, including PCBs, cyanide, toxic metals, and solvents, to Africa.
• The Italian government, under a new Environment Minister, announced legal proceedings to seek $75 million in compensation from Treeton-Tossico to cover the costs of transporting and disposing of the waste returned from Nigeria. The government also planned to prosecute senior executives for 'culpable negligence in creating a hazard' and inspect plants for groundwater contamination.
• The 'Europe 1992' initiative aimed to complete the internal market by removing obstacles to the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital by the end of 1992. For the chemical industry, this was expected to lower transportation and manufacturing costs but increase price competition and trigger a wave of consolidation.

APA

Gladwin, T. N. (1994). A TOXIC INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP (TIP). World Resources Institute. https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-181-0_full_version_english.pdf

Chicago

Gladwin, Thomas N. A TOXIC INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP (TIP). World Resources Institute, 1994. https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-181-0_full_version_english.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gladwin |first1=Thomas N. |title=A TOXIC INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP (TIP) |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=1994 |url=https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-181-0_full_version_english.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gladwin1994toxic, author = {Gladwin, Thomas N.}, title = {{A TOXIC INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP (TIP)}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {1994}, url = {https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-181-0_full_version_english.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }