The Responsible Care Global Charter

Launched in Canada in 1985, Responsible Care® is the chemical industry’s global voluntary initiative under which companies, through their national associations, work together to continuously improve their health, safety and environmental performance, and to communicate with stakeholders about their products and processes.

This dynamic initiative is constantly evolving to meet the challenges facing chemical manufacturers and all those in the value chain. At global level, that evolution was demonstrated with the launch of the Responsible Care® Global Charter (RCGC) in 2006.

Under RCGC, the industry established a set of nine Core Principles while preserving implementation flexibility to account for the different aspects of national laws and cultures and different business needs within the 52 signatory associations.

Significant new elements in RCCG include focus on new challenges facing the chemical industry and society at large – especially posed by the commitment to Sustainable Development, the safe management of chemicals along the value chain and increased transparency and better harmonisation between the national Responsible Care® programmes.

Companies signing the Charter committed to fully implement it. A number of new measures are being implemented such as global performance reporting and external verification processes that go beyond self-assessment.

All Cefic member companies, through their national associations, adhere to RCGC.