Responsible Care racks up ten years of action

Responsible Care, the chemical industry's voluntary code for improvement of its environmental, safety and health performance, is ten years old this year. The industry, as keen as ever to emphasise its achievements, sees this as a reason for celebration. However, its critics are using the anniversary to push for stronger regulations, and a move away from self-regulation.

The UK Chemical Industries Association adopted the Responsible Care guidelines in 1989. The scheme - membership of which is now compulsory for CIA members - is designed to `reduce waste, reduce pollution, improve energy efficiency and invest in clean manufacturing technologies.'

The CIA marked the anniversary by launching a new set of `guiding principles' for Responsible Care (see panel). `Health, safety and environment policies have rightly moved on since 1989,' commented CIA president Joe Blaker at the launch.

The new principles are intended to enshrine concepts such as sustainable development at the heart of the chemical industry. They also aim to overcome one of the frequently-stated shortcomings of Responsible Care - hardly anybody, including chemical plant workers, seems to have heard of it.

But even among those that have, support was far from unanimous. Paul Leinster of the Environment Agency - a former CIA employee - says that `anything which delivers the required results must be a good thing', but added that he didn't think that self-regulation could deliver the results that were needed.

The chairwoman of the CIA's Responsible Care advisory group, Judith Hackett, insists that self-regulation was viable. Safety performance has improved year-on-year and lost time accidents are becoming ever rarer, she points out. But she says that there was no room for complacency, and that companies were committed to moving their health, safety and environment performance forward.

Nevertheless, outside the chemical industry, the criticisms are scathing. Shortly before the Responsible Care anniversary, the Environment Agency released its pollution inventory, showing emissions of hazardous substances, and its `Hall of Shame', the companies incurring the largest amount of fines for pollution. At the top of the list was ICI, totalling £382,500.

Is there then a future for Responsible Care and self-regulation? The CIA and its members certainly think there is. But voluntary agreements of this scale, and on such a vital and sensitive issue, can only work if they have the consent of the government, and environment minister Michael Meacher sounded several notes of caution. The government both wants and needs the major UK industrial sectors to set their own strategies for sustainable development, he said, `and I am looking to leading sectors such as the chemicals industry to set the pace and the direction and to demonstrate that the voluntary approach can be fully effective.'

Worryingly for the industry, Meacher does not think the industry's voluntary approach in many areas goes far enough. For example, in the area of risk assessment of chemicals, he is concerned that the industry's preference for policies `based on sound science' does not go far enough to allay the public's concerns over safety. `There needs to be a firm commitment by industry to take more responsibility for providing the science needed, making sure it is sound and seen to be sound and for doing it in a timely fashion,' he commented. `The same rigour, I think, needs to be brought to bear also in interpreting the Responsible Care guidelines. It is not enough to say "we will assess the risks" unless stakeholders are aware what work is going on, that the standard of work is high.'

The government is currently working on a review of chemicals policy, and Meacher's comments could easily be seen as veiled threats of regulation by legislation. If the Responsible Care guidelines are to inspire confidence, he said, `they will need to be backed up with clear company guidelines and a commitment to access for information.'

Responsible Care Guidelines

* We will have safety, health and environment policies which are an integral part of overall policy;

* We will recognise that the involvement and commitment of our employees and associates will be essential. We will adopt communication and training programmes aimed at achieving that involvement and commitment;

* We will share experience with our colleagues and seek to learn from and incorporate best practice into our own activities;

* We will seek to cooperate with legislators and regulators;

* We will assess and manage the risks associated with our processes;

* We will assess the risks associated with our products, and seek to ensure these risks are properly managed through stewardship programmes;

* We will work to conserve our resources and reduce waste in all our activities;

* We will monitor our HS&E performance and report progress to our stakeholders; we will listen to the communities and engage them in dialogue about our activities and products;

* We will maintain documented management systems which are consistent with Responsible Care and which will be verified formally;

* Our Responsible Care will address the impact of both current and past activities.