Responsible Care

Responsible Care® was invented in 1985 by the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (“CIAC”), formerly the Canadian Chemical Producers’ Association (“CCPA”), in an effort to deal more directly with public concerns over chemistry products, concern that was created largely by a major train derailment and evacuation in Mississauga Ontario in 1979 and emphasized by a release of the chemical methylisocyanate in Bhopal India in 1984.

Responsible Care® is the chemistry industry’s commitment to sustainability, the betterment of society, the environment and the economy. Its ethic and principles compel companies to innovate for safer and more environmentally-friendly products and processes and to work cooperatively to identify and eliminate harm throughout the entire life cycle of our products.

Responsible Care® represents commitment to continual improvement of all aspects of the chemistry industry’s environmental, health and safety performance and to ensuring openness about the industry’s activities and achievements.

There are three Responsible Care® Codes of Practice that guide companies through the day to day decisions that are crucial to the attainment of the sustainability objectives.

The Operations Code covers items that the company has more direct control of, such as manufacturing, packaging, storage, and transportation.

The Stewardship Code relates to everything that involves developmental work or responsibility throughout the supply chain via suppliers, customers and distributors.

The Accountability Code includes all items that involve engagement with other stakeholders, both locally and beyond. One of the relationships that we take very seriously is with our neighboring properties in proximity to our operating sites. Each year our local managers invest time visiting each neighboring property in person to ensure that they are aware of who we are, what we do and how we mitigate the risks that we bring to each community. The attached letter is an example of some of the topics discussed at these meetings. (install link to community letter)

Responsible Care® covers all aspects of a company’s business, including environmental protection, resource conservation, occupational health and safety, process safety, research and development, transportation, product stewardship, purchasing, security and social responsibility. It requires engagement with plant site neighbors, communities along transportation corridors, emergency responders, critics and advocates, as well as with governments at all levels, to advance laws and regulations in support of sustainability.

Responsible Care®’s rigorous ethic has spread to more than 60 countries around the world. The CIAC member companies are widely regarded as global leaders in business responsibility. CCC is very proud to be a member company.