Responsible Care Activities
What is Responsible Care®?
“Responsible Care (RC)” is an initiative that began in Canada in 1985. RC encompasses voluntary activities wherein each company handling chemical substances secures “the environment, safety and health” and publishes the results of its activities, maintaining a dialogue and communication with society regarding all its processes, ranging from R&D through manufacturing, sales, logistics, use, and final consumption, to the disposal and recycling of the chemical substances.
In Japan, the Japan Responsible Care Council was established in 1995 by the Japan Chemical Industry Association (hereinafter “JCIA”). The JCIA categorizes Responsible Care activities into six RC codes: “Environmental Conservation,” “Occupational Safety & Health,” “Process Safety & Disaster Prevention,” “Logistics Safety,” “Product Stewardship (Chemical Materials & Product Safety)” and “Communication with Society.” According to the JCIA, the aim is to continuously implement the PDCA cycle (Plan → Do → Check → Act) to improve the quality of activities.
The JCIA’s website: https://www2.nikkakyo.org/english
In 1993, we formulated and announced the “Principle Idea for Environment, Safety and Health Care” and the corresponding “Code of Conduct.” This was the predecessor of our Responsible Care activities. In 1999, we joined the Japan Responsible Care Council and began a full-scale implementation of our RC activities. Since 2012, we have been a member of the JCIA Responsible Care Committee, which was reorganized from the same council. Currently, we have registered four domestic Group companies as RC activities-related companies, and our activities are still ongoing.
In 2014, we signed the RC Global Charter, declaring our commitment to uphold the international principles of RC and to strengthen our efforts in conducting RC activities. Our overseas Group companies are already engaged in activities that are conscious of the environment, safety, and health, but we plan to expand our Responsible Care activities overseas to further enhance the contents of such activities.
We respect the JCIA’s “Basic Policy on Environment and Safety.” Therefore, in all our processes including R&D, manufacturing, sales, and logistics, we are engaged in RC activities that continuously improve “Environmental Conservation,” “Occupational Safety & Health,” “Process Safety & Disaster Prevention,” “Logistics Safety,” “Product Stewardship (Chemical Materials & Product Safety)” and “Communication with Society.” Accordingly, we aim to be a corporate group that contributes to the creation of a sustainable society and one that earns the trust of society.
The following companies and offices have received ISO management system certifications, and the Group carries out Responsible Care activities based on these management systems.
Responsible Care Promotion System
Regarding Responsible Care (RC) activities, the RC Promotion Committee coordinates overall activities of the Group, while its subcommittees promote activities in their respective fields. The three subcommittees are: the Safety and Health Supervisors Subcommittee, the Environment Management Subcommittee, and the Safety Promotion Subcommittee. In April 2024, the Sustainability Committee was established for our efforts in sustainability management, and the functions of the previous CSR Committee were taken over by the Board of Executive Officers.The RC Promotion Committee carries out various RC-related activities in cooperation with these new promotion systems.
We have also started efforts to expand our Responsible Care activities to overseas Group companies. The three subcommittees (the Safety and Health Supervisors Subcommittee, the Environment Management Subcommittee, and the Safety Promotion Subcommittee) plan to discuss topics related to Responsible Care activities at overseas Group companies.The manufacturing sites of our overseas Group companies have received ISO management system certification, and the Group will implement RC activities based on this certification. Group companies with manufacturing sites will participate in RC activities from 2023, and we plan to gradually expand the activities to non-manufacturing sites thereafter.
Mid-Term Targets of Responsible Care (RC)
Our Group has set mid-term targets of Responsible Care in order to promote RC activities. To achieve the targets, all domestic Group companies will begin initiatives for all RC codes from FY2023. Accordingly, they will conduct RC activities systematically based on their respective RC promotion policies, and contribute to the SDGs in the process. For the reduction of CO2 emissions for environmental conservation, we have set targets that include overseas Group companies. Looking ahead, we will review the scope and targets of each item as necessary, as overseas Group companies begin to implement RC activities at full scale.
In addition, we will work to improve the level of our CSR and RC activities by reinforcing the collaboration and coordination system between the Group and ADEKA Corporation, our capital and business alliance partner.
