To encourage a self-critical approach, the association has devised questionnaires which enable a company to assess its performance in various management disciplines.

Additionally, appropriate indicators have been selected which enable performance of members in general to be measured and aggregate results to be published each year.

The cornerstone of commitment to Responsible Care is an undertaking, signed by company chief executives, to ten guiding principles. Signatories pledge that their companies will demonstrate a commitment to sustainable development and continual improvement by adhering to the following principles:

Policy: We will have a health, safety and environmental (SHE) policy which reflects our commitment. This will become an integral part of our overall business policy.

Employee involvement: We recognise that the involvement and commitment of our employees and associates will be essential to the achievement of our objectives. We will adopt communication and training programmes aimed at achieving that involvement and commitment.

Experience sharing: In addition to ensuring our activities meet the relevant statutory obligations, we will share our experiences with industry colleagues and seek to learn from incorporating best practice into our own activities.

Legislators and regulators: We will seek to work in co-operation with legislators and regulators.

Process Safety: We will assess and manage the risks associated with our processes.

Product Stewardship: We will assess the risks associated with our products and seek to ensure these risks are properly managed throughout the supply chain. This will be maintained through stewardship programmes involving our customers, suppliers and distributors.

Product Risk Assessment Process: For more information about our Product Risk Assessment Process, please click here.

Resource conservation: We will work to conserve resources and reduce waste in all our activities.

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

Management systems: We will maintain documented management systems which are consistent with the principles of Responsible Care and which will be subject to a formal verification procedure.

Past, present and future: Our Responsible Care management systems will address the impact of both current and past activities.