Responsible Care & Distribution PDF Print

Developing partnerships to achieve results

The principles of care in the areas of health, safety and environment are crucial in the chemical distribution industry. In some countries, national associations have set up schemes which are linked to the Responsible Care (RC) programmes. Others have joined the Responsible Distribution (RD) programme which holds the interest of their company members.

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To consolidate on a global level, ICCTA has developed, with the assistance of the association members, a joint programme which covers both the principles of RC and RD. It includes the eight Guiding Principles, the Chief Executive's commitment, a self-assessment questionnaire, indices of performance, conditions of the use of the respective logo, and prospects for Product Stewardship.

Added to this joint programme, in March 2009, ICCTA and the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) signed an agreement to closely cooperate in the promotion of their respective Responsible Care® and Responsible Distribution initiatives. The Councils also agreed on a terms & conditions and mutual goals for the use of the logo and marks. For more information read the offical press release .

 

At all ICCTA meetings, the RC/RD debate is of high importance and members exchange views on practical matters related to RC/RD. Members inform the others about their organisation's initiatives and results from projects carried out. This exchange of views and experiences is of great benefit particularly to countries which have only recently started with their own national programmes.

 

Partnerships in Europe and America 

In Europe, the European Association of Chemical Distributors (Fecc) and European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) iccta_img02signed a partnership agreement on the implementation and use of the Responsible Care name and logo. This agreement between FECC and Cefic is in line with ICCTA’s objective to extend Responsible Care/Responsible Distribution throughout the chemical community and to sectors allied with the chemical distribution industry such as chemical distributors, traders and transporters.

In America, the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) and the American Chemistry Council (ACC) have also signed an agreement to closely cooperate in the promotion and performance of their respective environmental, health, safety, and security initiatives: Responsible Distribution Process and Responsible Care. The objective is to recognise and support the continued communication and support between manufacturers and distributors of the two organisations and the success that these respective programmes have had.

 

RD/RC Third Party Verified Logo

A supplementary RD/RC Third Party Verified (TPV) logo can be awarded by ICCTA Member Associations to member companies who are Third Party Verified (TPV). The use of the logo by a member company is not mandatory, but its use is recommended once its award has been granted by the ICCTA Member Association.

The RD/RC TPV logo may be awarded by ICCTA Member Associations to member companies who comply with the following requirements:
1. Undertake an independent, third party assessment of the company’s commitment to RD/RC, for example RDP or ESADll.
2. Give permission, where required, for the ICCTA Member Association, or a verification body, to access the assessment report, to enable compliance with the ICCTA Member Association RD/RC programme to be validated.

TPV Logo Rules

TPV Logo Guidance