UK CIA sees Responsible Care verification as 'inevitable'

10 July 2002 15:29  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (CNI)--Independent verification of Responsible Care principles will eventually become mandatory for members of the Chemical Industries Association (CIA), according to director general Judith Hackitt.

She told CNI on Tuesday evening at the CIA's annual awards dinner that third party verification was "inevitable".

Hackitt was commenting on the recent move by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) to make Responsible Care programme verification mandatory for its members.

Asked when she thought independent verification might become compulsory for CIA members, she said: "Possibly five years but a maximum of 10."

Committment to the guiding principles of Responsible Care and to self-assessment is a mandatory requirement for chemical firms in membership of the CIA. But although the CIA actively encourages the independent auditing of Responsible Care schemes, it has stopped short of compulsion.

So far, three CIA members have had their Responsible Care schemes verified independently. They are BASF, Contract Chemicals and Thomas Swan - the Consett, County Durham-based fine and specialty chemicals manufacturer which won the association's Responsible Care award.

The trophy, awarded to the site that has made the best endeavours in the implementation of Responsible Care over the last 12 months, was accepted by Dai Hayward, director and general manager of Thomas Swan.

He said in accepting the trophy from award ceremony presenter Michael Brunson, former ITN political editor, that he looked forward to the UK following the ACC's example in making third party verification of Responsible Care mandatory.

Other awards made last night included:

• Young person of the year – Angela Parkin, a 24-year-old process engineer working for ICI Strategy Technology Group in Redcar, Teesside.
• Specialised Organic Chemicals Sector Association (Socsa) innovation – Fiona Smail, senior research assistant at Thomas Swan.
• Platinum Site Safety - Rhodia Consumer Specialties, Avonmouth, Bristol.
• Industry reputation – Hickson & Welch, Castleford, Yorkshire.
• Training and development  – Syngenta, Huddersfield, Yorkshire.

By: Neil Sinclair
+44 20 8652 3214

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