Our Unified Vision: The Revised Responsible Care Global Charter
More than 300 ICCA member chemical companies around the world have signed the revised Responsible Care Global Charter, including 80 percent of the largest 102 global chemical companies, as a show of our industry’s unified commitment to safe chemicals management.
In 2015, we updated and strengthened the Global Charter to address ongoing stakeholder expectations and evolving challenges, to enable industry to speak with a common voice about its global commitments.
The enhanced Global Charter includes more stringent process safety and facility security requirements, specific measures to advance sustainability, expand economic opportunity and improve use of resources, and expanded commitment to developing solutions to address societal challenges.
The Responsible Care Journey under SAICM
Since we first began the SAICM journey in 2006, we’ve expanded the reach and scope of Responsible Care. Today, 58 chemical associations in more than 60 countries around the globe have adopted Responsible Care, and the number of participating nations grows every year.
We welcomed China, the world’s largest chemicals manufacturer, to the Responsible Care family in 2015. Chemical production and consumption are on the rise in China with industry output reaching US $1.23 trillion in 2012.
We began work with the US $140-billion chemical industry in India to revitalize Responsible Care in the region. The Indian Chemical industry is expected to reach US $200 billion mark by 2020, according to the Indian Chamber of Commerce.
Myanmar and Sri Lanka have committed to Responsible Care. ICCA continues to lend them our support and expertise to help improve the way they manage chemicals.
ICCA expects to receive Vietnam’s application to join Responsible Care before year’s end.
We are working to expand Responsible Care throughout Africa and hosted capacity building workshops in Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania. We plan to expand Responsible Care to three new African countries over the next two years.
We’ve received applications from Egypt and Croatia to join Responsible Care. With their participation, the number of national associations united under Responsible Care would surpass 60.
Our vision for safety and performance excellence is clearer than ever, and we’re proud that the world’s leading chemical companies and many others have stepped up to meet the expectations of our global society.