Across meetings in House and Senate offices from both sides of the aisle, and at ACC headquarters, Responsible Care practitioners offered policymakers and regulators direct insight into the work taking place at facilities across the country. They demonstrated how Responsible Care advances safety, security and environmental stewardship while supporting the future of American manufacturing.
On July 22, nearly 30 Responsible Care® practitioners representing 20 ACC member and Partner companies took their firsthand experience to Washington, D.C., for ACC’s inaugural Responsible Care Capitol Hill Fly-In.
Across meetings in House and Senate offices from both sides of the aisle, and at ACC headquarters, Responsible Care practitioners offered policymakers and regulators direct insight into the work taking place at facilities across the country. They demonstrated how Responsible Care advances safety, security and environmental stewardship while supporting the future of American manufacturing.
Sharing Responsible Care’s Story
The day began with a breakfast discussion involving ACC staff and representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB).
Company representatives discussed the scope and impact of Responsible Care, shared practical insights from their facilities and explained how it drives continuous improvement across operations and through the supply chain. The group then headed to Capitol Hill for over 30 meetings with congressional offices, including engagement with Rep. David Taylor (OH-02), Sen. Mark Kelly (AZ), Rep. Greg Stanton (AZ-04), Rep. Riley Moore (WV-02) and Rep. Barry Moore (AL-02). These conversations gave policymakers an opportunity to hear directly from those closest to the work, ask questions, and learn how Responsible Care is implemented every day.
ACC Vice President of Responsible Care and Stewardship Mitch Toomey joined participants on Capitol Hill and reflected on the value of the dialogue.
“Responsible Care has always been about earning trust through measurable performance and continuous improvement. Opportunities like this help ensure the people doing that work every day have a voice in the conversations shaping the future of manufacturing,” Toomey said.
A Record of Safety Performance
Responsible Care’s safety record gave participants a powerful, measurable example of the program’s impact - a third consecutive year of record employee safety performance. Since 2017, the total recordable incident rate among Responsible Care companies has improved by more than 26 percent.
In fact, Responsible Care companies are five times safer than the manufacturing sector overall and nearly three times safer than the broader business of chemistry. This progress is especially important as the United States works to grow domestic manufacturing. Expanding American manufacturing depends on safe, secure and reliable operations, and Responsible Care helps provide the framework for companies to pursue that growth responsibly.
Learn more about Responsible Care’s latest safety performance data.
Preparing Future Industry Leaders
Members of ACC’s 2026 Responsible Care & Sustainability Future Leaders cohort also joined the Fly-In as part of their year-long leadership program and an advocacy seminar in Washington. After receiving advocacy training and engaging with ACC leadership, the Future Leaders participated in congressional meetings alongside experienced industry professionals.
The experience allowed these emerging leaders to see advocacy in action, strengthen their ability to communicate about Responsible Care and better understand how industry expertise can inform public policy.
The voices, expertise and enthusiasm of company representatives and Future Leaders helped make the event a success while strengthening understanding of Responsible Care on Capitol Hill. By connecting policy discussions with firsthand experience, participants showed how Responsible Care helps advance safety, responsible manufacturing and continuous improvement throughout the chemical industry.
The success of the inaugural Fly-In created a strong foundation for continued engagement between Responsible Care professionals and policymakers.