RESPONSIBLE CARE

Responsible Care is an innovative programme on environmental management which was set up by the Canadian Chemical Industry in 1984 and gradually spread in all the developed countries. In Europe, the implementation of the programme is coordinated by CEFIC- the European Council of Chemical Industries in Brussels, of which the Hellenic Association of Chemical industries is a full member.

Responsible Care is the chemical industrys initiative towards continuous improvement in health, safety and environmental protection. These remain very high on the agenda of members even if competitiveness has been declared top priority. For a constant improvement of the above commitment, during the production line, cooperation with suppliers, clients, transportation - employees and participation of the industrial personnel is required.

The fundamental features of Responsible Care could be summarized in the following:

An open line of communication with the employees and the other social partners on industrys environmental standards and their improvement.
Care for the environment during the life cycle of a product, i.e. their lab development, production, sale, transportation, storage, use and disposal.

:: Guiding Principles

Our companies, members of the Hellenic Association of Chemical Industries and we, we commit to implement the Responsible Care programme for the Environment according to the following principles:

The Environment, Hygiene and Safety in the workplace constitute an integral part of the whole policy of each company member.
The personnel of all levels, in each company, are fully aware of those principles and apply them in every productive and commercial activity.
Our duty is the continuous improvement of the standards in all matters concerning the environment, hygiene and safety at the workplace.
We produce and transport only those products which guarantee a safe and an environmentally correct production process, transportation, use and disposal.
Our factories and installations are managed in such way so as to ensure the protection of the environment and the protection of health and safety of our personnel and public.
We provide the Authorities, our social partners, clients and personnel with information about the Hygiene and Safety of our products, installations and environmental standards.
We provide our clients and associates with information aiming at the safe transportation, use and disposal of chemical products and the protection of the environment.
We cooperate with our suppliers in order to develop similar practices for an efficient environmental management and safe transportation of products.
We support research on the impact of the production procedure, our products, and their waste have, upon the environment, the health and the safety of the employees.
We adopt the principles of Responsible Care on environment and we promote them by helping through our experiences other companies that produce, transport, use or dispose chemical products.

:: The progress of the programme in Greece

The Responsible Care programme was launched officially in May 1995 in the presence of Ministers, the Press, CEFIC, and HACI members.

The Guiding Principles were distributed to each member for display in its facilities. For this purpose, a brochure was also published and distributed to the Press. The event was extensively covered by the Media and follow-up reports on the programme still regularly appear in the press.

IMPLEMENTATION
27 out of 76 members of the Association have joined the programme.

ACTIVITIES
Immediately after the launch, working groups (of about 20 people) started working on the implementation of this programme. The needs of the Greek chemical industry concerning the environment were analyzed and prioritized as follows:

Communication
Waste management
Storage and distribution
Process safety
Pollution control
Safety and hygiene

SALIENT POINTS
Cooperation with the Greek Fire Brigade to set up an Emergency Response Centre. Close Cooperation with the General State Chemical Laboratory of Greece for the implementation of the legislation on dangerous substances.
Participation in a working group of the Ministry to develop codes on unloading chemical substances during vessel-transportation.

INDICATORS OF PERFOMANCE
Since 1995 that Responsible Care was launched in Greece, our members who have joined the programme are presenting for the first time their indicators of performance concerning pollution emissions, energy consumption and safety in the workplace. The measured results are categorized and reflect the on going efforts of the chemical sector to reduce the effects of their industrial activities in the environment.