Responsible Care® | Arkema USA

Arkema Inc. is committed to maintaining a Responsible Care® management system to manage its business that will meet the Responsible Care® guiding principles.

In 1988, the American Chemistry Council implemented Responsible Care^®, a voluntary program for the U.S. chemical industry designed to achieve improvements in environmental, health, and safety performance. As a longstanding member of the ACC, Arkema Inc. has pledged to manage its business in accordance with the principles of Responsible Care^®.

The Responsible Care^® initiative began with six codes of management practice:

Community awareness and emergency response
Pollution prevention
Process safety
Distribution
Employee health and safety
Product stewardship

A seventh code, security, was added in 2001 to address the protection of people, products, processes and information, and information systems by enhancing security measures throughout the chemical industry value chain.

Participation in Responsible Care^® has brought about significant reductions in releases to air, water and land; major improvements in workplace and community safety; and has expanded programs to research and test chemicals for potential health and environmental impacts.

Basic framework

Responsible Care^® management system (RCMS) basic framework

The ACC has decided to move the Responsible Care^® program beyond the codes of management practice in order to continue to improve its members' health, environment and safety performance and to provide greater business value to its members.

The codes are now incorporated into RCMS, which is based on the «Plan-Do-Check-Act» process. The RCMS is not designed to be a stand-alone management system; rather, it is intended to build on or enhance a company's existing business, health, environment, and safety processes.

The basic framework of the RCMS covers:

Commitment to Responsible Care^® as demonstrated through policy and leadership
Planning («PLAN»)
- Define hazards and risks
- Set objectives and targets
- Develop programs
- Communicate actions and progress

Implementation, operation, and accountability («DO»)
- Training
- Documentation
- Procedures
Performance measurement and corrective action («CHECK»)
- Self-assessment verified through third-party audits
- Incident investigation
- Records management
- Corrective/preventive action
- Measurements
Management system review («ACT»)
Review by senior management

Arkema Inc. continues to remain in good standing meeting ACC’s RCMS certification requirements.

Guiding principles

Responsible Care^® guiding principles

Arkema Inc. is committed to maintaining a Responsible Care^® management system to manage its business that will meet the Responsible Care^® guiding principles.

To lead our companies in ethical ways that increasingly benefit society, the economy, and the environment.
To design and develop products that can be manufactured, transported, used, and disposed of, or recycled safely.
To work with customers, carriers, suppliers, distributors, and contractors to foster the safe and secure use, transport, and disposal of chemicals and provide hazard and risk information that can be accessed and applied in their operations and products.
To design and operate our facilities in a safe, secure, and environmentally sound manner.
To instill a culture throughout all levels of our organizations to continually identify, reduce and manage process safety risks.
To promote pollution prevention, minimization of waste, and conservation of energy and other critical resources at every stage of the life cycle of our products.
To cooperate with governments at all levels and organizations in the development of effective and efficient safety, health, environmental and security laws, regulations, and standards.
To support education and research on the health, safety, environmental effects, and security of our products and processes.
To communicate product, service, and process risks to our stakeholders and listen to and consider their perspectives.
To make continual progress towards our goal of no accidents, injuries, or harm to human health and the environment from our products and operations and openly report our health, safety, environmental, and security performance.
To seek continual improvement in our integrated Responsible Care Management System^® to address environmental, health, safety, and security performance.
To promote Responsible Care^® by encouraging and assisting others to adhere to these Guiding Principles.

Arkema NA Group – Health, Safety/Security, Environment & Quality (HSEQ) Policy

Protection

Conducting our activities in a sustainable manner that protects:

The health and well-being of our employees, contractors, and communities
The environment, including the prevention of pollution, water management, and increasing energy efficiency
Our customers
The public
The quality of our products
Our assets through loss control and security programs.

Compliance

Managing our business activities to meet the requirements of all applicable laws and regulations, Company requirements, and the standards to which the company subscribes.

Committing to the guiding principles of Responsible Care^®.

Safety

Providing a safe, healthy, and secure workplace in order to prevent workplace incidents, undesired process events, and ill health.

Committing to the elimination of hazards and elimination of unreasonable risks.

Communication & Openness

Encouraging and seeking open and constructive dialog with stakeholders.

Consulting with employees and contractors and encouraging their participation.

Continual Improvement

Establishing and reviewing goals, objectives, and targets and a commitment to continual improvement to enhance HSEQ performance.

Regularly evaluating our performance in order to ensure the relevance of our actions, measure improvements, and define new improvement objectives.

Every employee and representative of Arkema NA Group is required to uphold this policy.

Product stewardship

Learn more

Responsible Care® performance measures