Responsible Care is the chemical industry's commitment to continual improvement in all aspects of health, safety and environmental (HS&E) performance and to openness in communication about its activities and its achievements.

Led by the Chemical Industries Association since it was adopted in 1989 in the United Kingdom, this voluntary and rigorous programme of collective action by members companies has already made significant progress.

• Commitment by the CIA membership is total. Adherence to the principles and objectives of Responsible Care is a condition of membership.
• Health, safety and environmental performance, measured by a consistent set of indicators, has clearly improved
• Systems for mutual aid and sharing best practice are now in place through a national network of cells
• Channels of communication to the public and its elected representatives are now extensive
• Responsible Care Management System Guidance and a mandatory self-assessment process.

The aim is to earn public trust and confidence in order to secure the industry's licence to continue to operate safely, profitably and with due care for the interests of future generations.

To be able to display the internationally recognised symbol for Responsible Care organisations are required to meet a set of qualifying requirements. They should:

• demonstrate top level commitment to the guiding principles
• follow codes and guidance
• provide indicators of performance
• engage in open and honest communication
• cooperate in the mutual help network
• encourage programme development
  
  

  Responsible Care

  Guiding Principles

  The first and most demanding of the qualifying requirements is that a member company, at chief executive level, commits itself to adhere to the guiding principles of Responsible Care. These lay down that "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 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.
    
    
  • 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.
    
    
  • Resource 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."