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"Excellence in the area of Responsible Care® is an obsession within Arch Chemicals. We're obsessed with the continual improvement of our environmental, health, and safety performance. From research and development to manufacturing, distribution, use and disposal, we feel it is our responsibility to ensure that every stage of a chemical's life is incident-free. For us that means no accidents, no injuries - absolutely no situations that could bring harm to people or the environment." - Mike Campbell, our Chairman, President and CEO |
As a member of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), Arch Chemicals has embraced the ACC's signature Responsible Care® program. First adopted as a condition of membership by the ACC in 1988, Responsible Care® was developed to encourage member companies to continuously improve their performance in the realms of health, safety and the environment. Now embraced by more than 47 chemical industry associations worldwide and by many other partner companies and trade associations, Responsible Care® is driving remarkable progress on everything from improving workplace safety to reducing emissions of reportable chemicals.
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View our Global Responsible Care Commitment Statement |
We at Arch Chemicals have developed a rigorous management system to drive improvement in all seven areas under Responsible Care®. To make this complex and multifaceted process more compelling and to give it a sense of urgency, we have developed what we call "The Goal is Zero" initiative. It recognizes a fundamental truth at the heart of Responsible Care® - that no amount of harm to people or the environment is acceptable.
As its very name implies, Arch's "Goal is Zero" initiative is indeed aimed at achieving zero employee and contractor injuries, zero manufacturing process incidents, zero distribution incidents, and zero environmental incidents. Various Arch Chemical facilities have at times achieved the ultimate goal in each or all of these categories, proving that The Goal is Zero is not just an admirable slogan, but also an achievable reality.
In addition to the vital categories under our Goal is Zero program, the ACC has performance metrics, to measure performance at both individual member companies like Arch and throughout the industry as a whole. These measures enable us to identify areas for continuous improvement and provide a means for the public to track Arch's performance in an accessible and transparent way. Not surprisingly, there is considerable overlap between Arch's corporate wide Goal is Zero initiative and the ACC performance metrics for
The following chart summarizes Arch's performance since our founding in 1999 in the targeted areas covered by our Goal is Zero initiative and the ACC's performance metrics. While we are pleased with the progress that we've made on many fronts, we recognize that we cannot be satisfied with anything less than the ultimate goal of zero. That's why we are so obsessive about Responsible Care®, and why we work hard to provide our employees with the tools, training and support that they need to achieve excellence under both The Goal is Zero initiative and the broader Responsible Care® program.
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View our Responsible Care Performance |
OSHA Employee/Contractor Recordable Incident Rate: These rates measure work-related illnesses and injuries for employees and contract employees on the basis of every 200,000 hours worked. In accordance with guidance from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, measurable incidents include those that involve death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness or diagnosis of a significant injury. In this category, the lower the recordable incident rate the better.
Distribution Incidents: Significant incidents such as spills during the transportation of our products. We at Arch also track this via a rate measuring incidents per 1,000 shipments.
Environmental Incidents: Incidents such as chemical spills or emissions that are reportable because they exceed strict limits established in our operating facilities' environmental permits or in state, federal or foreign laws and regulations.
Process Incidents: Incidents that include fires, explosions and toxic releases that result in a lost-time injury, significant off-site consequences or damages in excess of $25,000.
Energy Consumption: BTUs consumed per pound of production.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent net emissions per pound of production.
Security Assessments: In the wake of the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the
Responsible Care Management Systems® (RCMS) Certification
Arch Chemicals' HTH Water Products and Wood Protection businesses have achieved third-party certifications of their Responsible Care Management Systems® (RCMS). The American Chemistry Council (ACC) developed the RCMS® certification program to provide objective, third-party verification that ACC member companies have in place quality-control systems needed to drive continuous improvement in workplace safety, environmental quality, security and community awareness and emergency response.
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View our RCMS® certificate |
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View the RCMS® certification press release |
