Industry's "Responsible Care" Program on Forum's Agenda

The chemical industry's "Responsible Care" program was a major labor -management topic on the Forum's agenda. The Responsible Care program is a chemical industry voluntary program designed to improve the health, safety and environmental (HSE) performance of chemical companies. The program began in Canada in 1987 and has since spread to participating companies in over 40 countries. Application of Responsible Care programs varies somewhat from country to country, but the program is monitored at the global level by the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA).

ICCA's global Responsible Care leader reported that the Responsible Care programs have been successful, but that they are still relatively new. He noted that there are differences in success by country and that there are problems remaining to be worked out, but that the ICCA was pledged to continue improving performance.