Responsible Care

The chemical industry's commitment to safety and environmental performance, its employees and YOU

Responsible Care is an international programme that has been adopted in the chemical industries of 46 countries including the UK. The main aim of Responsible Care is continual improvement in health, safety and environmental performance in the chemical industry. Because of Responsible Care, employees in the chemical industry, people living near chemical sites, and everyone who uses chemicals (and that means YOU!) can feel confident that the chemical industry is working hard to make sure they care for people and the environment.

"The main aim of Responsible Care is continual improvement in health, safety and environmental performance in the chemical industry"

In the UK, companies that are members of the Chemical Industries Association all make a commitment to the guiding principles of Responsible Care. As well as the guiding principles there are seven other specific elements of the Responsible Care programme. Find out more about these elements:

Guiding Principles - these describe the commitments made by chemical companies.

Management Systems and self assessment - companies set up management systems to help them continually improve their health, safety and environmental performance.

"...managing the risks of existing products and developing new products with even lower environmental impact."

Product Stewardship - the chemical industry is also committed to continual improvement in the health, safety and environmental performance of chemical products. The industry does this by managing the risks of existing products and developing new products with even lower environmental impact.

Confidence in Chemicals - this is a major initiative that makes a renewed commitment to the responsible and safe management of chemicals.

Indicators of Performance - an annual survey of the UK chemical industry measures the performance of a range of health, safety and environmental factors.

Open and honest communication - one of the most significant commitments of Responsible Care is honest communication with all those who have an interest in the conduct of the chemical industry, particularly employees and people living near chemical sites.

"One of the most significant commitments of Responsible Care is honest communication with all those who have an interest in the conduct of the chemical industry, particularly employees and people living near chemical sites."

Partnerships down the supply chain - partnerships with organisations which represent manufacturers, formulators, distributors, resellers, hauliers and others involved in the marketing of chemicals help to promote continual improvement in health, safety and environmental performance through the product supply chain.

Guiding Principles
These are the commitments a company makes as part of Responsible Care:
As a member of the Chemical Industries Association, this company manages all aspects of its activities so that we provide a high level of protection for the health and safety of employees and associates, customers, and the public; and for the environment. We will demonstrate our commitment to sustainable development and continual improvement by adhering to the following principles:

Policy - we will have a health, safety and environmental (HS&E) policy which will reflect our commitment and be an integral part of our overall business policy.

Employee involvement - we will recognise that the involvement and commitment of our employees and associates will be essential to the achievement of our objectives. We will adopt communication and training programmes aimed at achieving that involvement and commitment.

"...we will share experience with our industry colleagues and seek to learn from and incorporate best practice into our own activities."

Experience sharing - in addition to ensuring our activities meet the relevant statutory obligations, we will share experience with our industry colleagues and seek to learn from and incorporate best practice into our own activities.

Legislators and regulators - we will seek to work in co-operation with legislators and regulators.

Process safety - we will assess and manage the risks associated with our processes.

Product stewardship - we will assess the risks associated with our products, and seek to ensure these risks are properly managed throughout the supply chain through stewardship programmes involving our customers, suppliers and distributors.

Resources conservation - we will work to conserve resources and reduce waste in all our activities.

Stakeholder engagement - we will monitor our HS&E performance and report progress to stakeholders; we will listen to the appropriate communities and engage them in dialogue about our activities and our products.

Management systems - we will maintain documented management systems which are consistent with the principles of Responsible Care and which will be subject to a formal verification procedure.

Past, present and future - Our Responsible Care management systems will address the impact of both current and past activities.

"Chemical Industries Association has produced a guidance document called 'Responsible Care Management Systems'. A self assessment questionnaire is also available which helps companies to check their progress with Responsible Care and shows them where improvements could be made."

Management Systems and Self Assessment
A chemical manufacturing site needs to have a well-constructed, robust health, safety and environmental management system if it is going to keep improving its performance. To help managers in chemical companies set up such a management system, so that they can meet the commitments of Responsible Care, the Chemical Industries Association has produced a guidance document called 'Responsible Care Management Systems'. A mandatory self assessment questionnaire helps companies to check their progress with Responsible Care and shows them where improvements could be made. Manufacturing sites are being encouraged to have their management systems verified by an external agency - the certification bodies. See the CIA website for a list of CIA member companies which have completed audits of their management systems.

Product Stewardship
Commitment to Responsible Care also means continual improvement in the health, safety and environmental performance in products. This is known as Product Stewardship and involves managing the risks of existing products and developing new products with even lower environmental impact. Product Stewardship seeks to identify the risks that exist when a chemical product is used, and the risks for the companies and individuals who design, develop, handle or use chemical products down the supply chain.

Confidence in Chemicals
Confidence in chemicals is an initiative which offers a renewed commitment by the chemical industry to safe management of chemicals in consultation with governments, industry and other committed stakeholders. Click here for more details.

Indicators of Performance
The health, safety and environmental factors which are measured by the annual indicators of performance survey are:

Safety	-	lost time accidents (employees and contractors)
Occupational health	-	Provision for health protection
Waste emissions	- - -	discharge substances of particular concern if discharged to water or sewer disposal of 'special' wastes (substances where there are special requirements relating to disposal off site) VOC and other gaseous emissions water usage
Distribution incidents	-	all transport modes including pipeline
Communication	- - -	site reporting community liaison panels complaints procedures
Management systems	-	proportion of sites with formal HS&E and quality management systems
Product stewardship in action	-	examples of good practice
Energy consumption	-	participation within the chemical sector climate change agreement The chemical sector is committed to reduce the industry's specific consumption (i.e. energy efficiency as measured by energy consumed per tonne of output) by 18 per cent of its 1998 level by the year 2010

For more information on Indicators of Performance go to the Performance page.

Open and honest communication
As part of Responsible Care, the chemical industry is committed to openness about its activities and has implemented a number of measures to improve communications, particularly with employees and people living near chemical sites.

Site reports - the majority of UK chemical sites now publish reports on health, safety and environmental matters.

"many UK sites have regular community liaison panels involving (among others) company representatives, local councillors, residents and young people, so that local people have an opportunity to discuss their concerns."

Liaison panels - many UK sites have regular community liaison panels involving (among others) company representatives, local councillors, residents and young people, so that local people have an opportunity to discuss their concerns.

Open days - up and down the country many chemical sites welcome visitors and periodically hold open days for employees and their families, and other neighbours. Every four years, the chemical industry organises a co-ordinated programme of open days across the country. The last was held in 1998 when 100 sites opened their gates to the public.

Complaints procedures - nearly all sites have formal complaints procedures for local residents to raise concerns. These require a site to make a thorough investigation of all complaints and to report back in detail to the people who may be affected.

Responsible Care cell network
There are 21 Responsible Care 'cells' in the UK. These give the cell members, who are mainly site managers or senior technical specialists, an opportunity to share experience and best practice. Agendas of cell meetings reflect local needs and issues but tend to cover all aspects of health, safety and environmental protection, with particular focus on areas where regulation and technology are changing and developing.

Partnerships down the supply chain
The Chemical Industries Association has set up two partnership agreements. Firstly with the British Chemical Distributors and Traders Association (BCDTA) to help promote improved health, safety and environmental performance through the product supply chain. Secondly with the British Lubricants Federation, the members of which formulate lubricants in the UK. There is also an understanding with the British Coatings Federation whose members manufacture and distribute paints and coatings.