Chemical Groups to Promote Responsibility Initiatives
On March 11, the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) and the International Council of Chemical Trade Associations (ICCTA) signed an agreement to closely cooperate in the promotion of their respective Responsible Care® (RC) and Responsible Distribution (RD) initiatives. Both parties have adopted these initiatives and are actively promoting them in countries across the globe.
"The memorandum of understanding … is important," said Chris Jahn, president of the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD), a member of ICCTA. "It is the first time that both organizations have a formal agreement that values the environmental, health, safety, and security (EHS&S) requirements of each other’s member companies’ risk management systems, Responsible Care® and Responsible Distribution," he explained.
"Now, two integral components of the world's chemical industry’s supply chain share similar critical elements of their respective risk management systems. NACD’s RD program, the Responsible Distribution ProcessSM (RDP)," Jahn continued, "has led this philosophy among the distributors in the United States since the Association’s 1991 vote that made third-party verification a model for the chemical distribution industry."
Successfully demonstrating, through on-site verifications, implementation of EHS&S policies and procedures under RDP’s Code of Management Practice to an independent third-party verifier has been a condition of membership in NACD since 1997. RDP Verification (RDPV) is required once every 36 months. The three-year current cycle ends June 2010.
ICCA is the worldwide voice of the chemical supplier industry. The chemical supplier industry directly employs about 7 million people. Including indirect employment, more than 20 million people around the globe have a job connected to this industry.
ICCTA represents the global chemical distribution industry. Chemical distributors are actively involved in the promotion and implementation of environmental, health, and safety initiatives such as RC & RD. Chemical distributors create value in the supply chain by meeting the demands of millions of downstream users ranging over all branches of industry. They distribute substances and preparations vital for the success of our economies.
For more information on NACD’s on-site RDP Verification process, visit the Responsible Distribution Process Web site at www.responsibledistribution.com.