The Responsible Care Management System® (RCMS®) provides ACC members, Responsible Care® Partners and Responsible Care licensees an effective framework for assessing needs, setting specific performance goals and sharing progress with the public. A key component of the management system is mandatory certification by independent, accredited auditing firms.

Every Responsible Care company is required to certify that a management system has been put in place and must demonstrate progress toward improved performance. Companies may choose from two certification options.

RCMS®: The first option certifies that a company is in compliance with the requirements of the RCMS, which is based on a Plan-Do-Check-Act model that focuses on specific activities addressing environmental, health, safety, security, stakeholder outreach and product stewardship. To attain RCMS certification, a company is audited against the requirements of the RCMS Technical Specification.

RC14001®: The second option allows companies to combine ACC’s RCMS requirements with those of the ISO 14001 environmental management systems standard into a single, integrated certification audit. In addition to meeting the requirements of the RCMS Technical Specification, companies seeking RC14001 certification must adhere to the rules set forth by national accreditation bodies that govern the ISO process.

The RC14001 Technical Specification has been revised to reflect recent changes to ISO 14001. To order single-user copies of the RC14001 Technical Specification, call (301) 617-7824, or order online at ACC's Store. For multi-user or multi-site copies, call (703) 486-2992.

Every ACC member company must complete a specific number of certification audits to meet its membership obligation. The number of sites to be included in each company’s auditing sample is based on its total number of facilities:

Company Size	Requirements	By 12/2005	By 12/2007	1/2008 - 12/2010
1 - 25 sites	33% of sites (up to a maximum of 4) + HQ	HQ audit complete (minimum)	Complete all required sites	New certification cycle
26 - 40 sites	6 sites + HQ	HQ audit complete (minimum)	Complete all required sites	New certification cycle
41+ sites	8 sites + HQ	HQ audit complete (minimum)	Complete all required sites	New certification cycle

Some companies may opt for a single combined headquarters and site audit with a deadline of December 31, 2006. This model is intended for small-size companies with headquarters and facilities that are "co-located" or that have headquarters with "minimal" Responsible Care activities. In order to participate in a combined audit, companies must meet criteria described in RC201.03 (see: Appendix 8.4) and communicate to ACC their intentions to pursue this path by December 31, 2004.