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REBOOTING RESPONSIBLE CARE DISTRIBUTION • FECC’S GERHARD AHLBRECHT* EXPLAINS THE TOOLS BEING DEVELOPED TO HELP COMPANIES IN THE CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTION SECTOR IMPLEMENT RESPONSIBLE CARE ONE OF THE key projects in the course of the ongoing Responsible Care reboot in Europe, spearheaded since 2018 by the European Chemical Industry Council’s (Cefic) Responsible Rejuvenation Issue Team is the development of the Responsible Care Self-Assessment Excel tool. The European Association of Chemical Distributors (Fecc), through its Responsible Care Committee, has adjusted this tool for use by chemical distributors via a dedicated working group combined with the expertise of Arcadis, a global design, engineering and management consulting company based in Amsterdam. The new tool, which was officially launched for use by chemical distributors in April 2020, paves the way for more European chemical companies – especially small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) at entry level – to join the Responsible Care family while also enhancing the industry’s levels of reputation and trust. It aims to be inclusive, enabling small and large companies or sites, with or without experience in Responsible Care and
the associated standards, to get started on the road to performance excellence and to have visibility on how to improve over time. To achieve this purpose, the tool includes four maturity levels, representing four different levels of Responsible Care implementation: 1. Commit to Responsible Care and start to acknowledge the implementation steps. 2. Initiate and Plan: planning and doing; the organisation has started implementing Responsible Care throughout its business and plans are made to improve. 3. Improve Continuously: planning, doing, checking and acting; the organisation has reached a level of implementation where plans and actions are not only done but also assessed to drive continuous improvement with a full management system approach. 4. Promote and Sustain Excellence: the organisation has achieved improved performance and effectiveness and is going further by either reviewing that effectiveness or by sharing best practice
with peers, partners and other stakeholders to foster resource-building in the industry and accelerate change. CLARITY AND SUPPORT In a nutshell, the Responsible Care SelfAssessment Tool aims to help companies get a clear view of their own performance, to frame their commitment and to learn through tailor-made tips the steps that can be taken to improve performance. It is designed to facilitate Responsible Care assessment for companies that are already certified against one of the selected ISO standards, while also providing a first gap analysis towards international standards for those companies that are not yet certified. Targeting SMEs in particular, this is a useful way to determine if an international standard is within reach or still too far away. The self-assessment tool creates insights into where a company stands right now. By carefully filling out the questionnaire, a company can generate a true and reliable assessment of its status or its progress. Finally, the key benefit for a company consists in helping prioritise those topics where improvement is most desired and in supporting the change management process by generating an action plan. Ultimately, the tool covers those processes in which Responsible Care contributes significantly to sustainability. As a second step, a Responsible Care Self-Assessment Web Tool is currently under development and scheduled for launch in autumn 2020. This will enable stakeholders in the supply chain – manufacturers and distributors alike – to benchmark their Responsible Care performance and monitor continuous improvement at both national and European level. Additionally, multi-site companies can also benefit from this web tool. These tools connect Responsible Care in Europe to globally recognised standards, such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 50001, ISO 45001, ISO 26000 and RC 14001, as well as global sustainability principles including the UN Sustainability Goals. Ultimately, they contribute to a harmonised approach to Responsible Care at the level of the International Chemical Trade Association
HCB MONTHLY | JULY 2020
