Responsible Care®

Responsible Care® is the global chemical industry’s voluntary initiative to drive continuous improvement in safe chemicals management and achieve excellence in environmental, health, safety and security performance.

The Responsible Care initiative began in Canada in 1984, and today, national chemicals associations in nearly 70 economies around the world manage Responsible Care implementation in their individual countries.

BDO and GBL Voluntary Product Stewardship Code

ICCA member companies that manufacture BDO and GBL have developed a code consisting of eight voluntary product stewardship best practices designed to help prevent the misuse and diversion of both chemicals for unlawful purpose.

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New! Responsible Care Self-Assessment Tool

ICCA recently launched a new Responsible Care Self-Assessment Tool, which supports implementation of the six elements of the Responsible Care Global Charter by participating companies and provides practical guidance to help them enhance their safety and sustainability performance.

Press Release

The Task of Transporting Chemicals

International Responsible Care associations and practitioners, like Responsabilidad Integral Colombia (RIC) are driving sound chemicals management throughout the supply chain, from manufacture to transportation. Learn more about how RIC supports the safe transportation of chemicals by evaluating transportation and logistics operation through their technical tool, launched in 2021.
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white semi truck with reinforced tank semi trailer for transportation of dangerous liquid chemical

Responsible Care Commitment

Through Responsible Care, chemical manufacturers, national chemical industry associations and their partners commit to:

  • Enable a corporate leadership culture that proactively supports safe chemicals management.
  • Safeguard people and the environment by continuously improving our environmental, health and safety performance, facility security, and the safety of our products.
  • Strengthen chemical management systems around the globe.
  • Work with business partners to promote safe chemicals management within their own operations.
  • Engage with stakeholders, respond to their concerns and communicate openly on our performance and products.
  • Contribute to sustainability through development of innovative technologies and other solutions to societal challenges.

Responsible Care Global Charter

The Responsible Care Global Charter outlines this unified commitment. CEOs from more than 580 global chemical manufacturing companies, which in total represent 96 percent of the world’s largest chemical companies, have signed the Global Charter.

ICCA’s Responsible Care Leadership Group (RCLG) oversees the global Responsible Care initiative and includes representatives from national associations and chemical manufacturing companies around the world.

Responsible Care is a global initiative, and national chemical associations work with member companies to implement the program in their respective regions. The RCLG has developed a set of implementation milestones for national associations to track progress. Based on the Eight Fundamental Features of Responsible Care, these implementation milestones are intended to guide national associations as they work to build and grow Responsible Care in their region.

Building Capacity for Sound Chemicals Management

As part of our commitment to Responsible Care, national chemical associations, chemical companies, their business partners and ICCA work closely to strengthen and spread the Responsible Care ethic worldwide.

Responsible Care supports collaboration among the chemical industry, government and local authorities to help facilitate excellent practices in sound chemicals management and sustainable growth in regions around the globe. ICCA provides financial and technical resources to support Responsible Care education and workshops, to facilitate capacity building in regions that have recently adopted Responsible Care.

Capacity Building in Action

ICCA has supported capacity building activities around the world, to strengthen Responsible Care and sound management of chemicals. Learn about capacity building activities in China, India, Africa and other regions.

Partnering with Global Stakeholders

Responsible Care is an essential part of ICCA’s contribution to the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) – a policy framework to promote chemical safety and sound management around the world.

ICCA’s capacity building partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is critical to our work to implement sound chemicals management practices. Working together, ICCA and UNEP have held a wide range of joint activities, from workshops and symposiums to in-depth studies, with an aim to grow Responsible Care in China, South America, Africa and other regions.

Reporting and Strengthening Our Performance

Reporting of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is a cornerstone of Responsible Care. Associations around the world work collaboratively with their company members to collect and report data on industry performance. With a goal of continuous improvement, Responsible Care advocates understand that in order to improve, we must know where we are.

We are focused on continuous improvement, which is built upon a comprehensive assessment of industry’s EHS performance based on quantitative performance indicators. Using ICCA’s KPI reporting tool, national associations report and track performance metrics related to workplace safety, energy and water consumption, CO2 emissions and process safety incidents.

Our Commitment to Sustainability

The growing global focus on sustainability – both within the chemical industry and by external stakeholders – is helping shape the evolution of Responsible Care in many parts of the world and has enabled our continued engagement in sustainable development discussions at the international level.

Responsible Care is the foundation of the chemical industry’s sustainability commitment. Participation in Responsible Care enables a unified approach for industry to address the major sustainability issues we face, as well as issues related to product stewardship, pollution, occupational and process safety, emergency preparedness, community engagement, safe chemical distribution and chemicals security.

If you are interested in learning how your company can become a Responsible Care Company, please contact Tara Henriksen or Cherie Weible.

Our Commitment to Sustainability