THE AMERICAN Chemistry Council (ACC) has launched a new Web site that lets the public check out performance data on the chemical industry, specifically providing information on Responsible Care company members.
The data is posted on the Responsible Care site and shows information from companies that routinely measure and track performance. It covers performance related to environment, safety, security, product stewardship, economic, and other areas.
In many instances, companies have provided up to five years of trend data so users can follow their progress. In addition, some companies have included supplemental information, which has been linked to the measurement shown. Some pages have graphs depicting performance ratings over time.
Responsible Care companies are diverse, ranging from very large companies with thousands of employees and dozens of facilities to smaller companies with fewer than 100 employees at a single site. The products, processes, equipment, and regulatory reporting requirements of these companies also can differ significantly. Therefore, the data provided on the Web site may not be useful in making direct company-to-company comparisons, and in many instances, such comparisons may prove misleading, ACC said. However, the information is an important indicator of each company's individual progress as well as broad performance trends across the industry.
“This Web site opens a new chapter of transparency for America's leading chemical companies,” ACC said. “It clearly demonstrates our industry's focus on making readily available the performance results of Responsible Care.”
Responsible Care is an initiative administered by ACC that commits member companies to bettering safety programs and addressing public concerns about the handling of hazardous materials. The program has led to emissions reductions of 70% and a worker safety record that is four times better than the average of the US manufacturing sector, according to ACC.
Responsible Care companies recently increased the scope and specificity of the voluntary program, resulting in new standardized performance measurements, or metrics, that will be published annually on the new Web site.
In many cases, visitors to the Web site can view historic data showing how companies and the industry have improved performance over time. Companies choose whether to display up to five years of historic data and whether to post additional comments to help put the information in context.
“This is a groundbreaking step for our industry,” the ACC said. “For more than 15 years, ACC's Responsible Care initiative has helped our nation's chemical makers improve performance above and beyond government requirements. This new Web site allows ACC members to make these performance results more transparent so employees and the public can help identify even more opportunities for further improvements.”