Responsible Care® companies use a modern management system to drive environmental, health, safety and security performance. The Responsible Care management system provides a structured framework to help companies assess their needs, set specific performance goals and share their 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. To obtain certification, companies undergo headquarters and facility audits conducted by independent, accredited auditing firms.
During the first cycle of certifications, all Responsible Care companies were required to completed headquarters certification by December 31, 2005, and initial facility certifications by December 31, 2007. Some companies completed their headquarters and facility audits concurrently. The deadline for this combined certification audit was December 31, 2006. These companies are identified in the page indicating each company’s audit status. After December 31, 2007, certification will be renewed every three years.
All Responsible Care companies who were members before December 31, 2007 will now have to complete a second cycle of certifications at their headquarters and facilities. These companies must have their headquarters and facilities certified by December 31, 2010. Companies joining ACC in 2009 or 2010 will have until December 31, 2013 to complete their first certification cycle.
The management system certification requirement is a new Responsible Care commitment. Companies began working toward certification in January 2004. Completion of headquarters and facility audits, the first phases of the certification process, are reported on a company-specific basis. Unlike other performance data on this website, which are reported annually, progress toward completing certification audits will be updated quarterly.
