OREANDA-NEWS. April 24, 2012. Tata Chemicals (TCL), India’s leading manufacturer of chemicals, fertilisers and food additives, as well as the second largest soda ash player in the world, has retained the highly recognized Responsible Care® certification from April 2012 to March 2015, thus becoming one of the first Indian companies to retain the Responsible Care® certification for the second time in a row. This certification, which is given after a comprehensive assessment by the overseas assessors, permits Tata Chemicals to use the Responsible Care® logo until March 2015 and places the company in the list of the Indian Chemical Council’s (ICC) accreditation for manufacturing and distribution operations in India.

Responsible Care® is a global, voluntary initiative which started in Canada in 1984 and is practiced today by high-performance chemical companies in 53 countries worldwide. Responsible Care® calls on companies to demonstrate their commitment to improve all aspects of performance that relate to protection of health, safety and environment.

On receiving the certification, R Mukandan, managing director, Tata Chemicals, commented, “Tata Chemicals is committed to the highest standards of corporate citizenship, and we continuously strive to achieve the highest performance standards in the areas of sustainability, safety, service and quality. The Responsible Care® certification for the second time in a row is a prized testimony of our efforts towards these values.”

The signatory chemical companies agree to commit themselves to improve their performance in the fields of environmental protection, occupational safety and health protection, plant safety, product stewardship and logistics, as well as to continuously improve the dialogue with their neighbours and the public, independent from legal requirements. As part of the Responsible Care® initiative, the International Council of Chemistry introduced the The Global Product Strategy in 2006.

The International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) has established a framework for chemical manufacturing companies to adopt and implement global Responsible Care® core principles. National chemical industry associations are working with the ICCA to ensure the continuous improvement of EHS&S in their countries. For India, ICC adopted this initiative in 1993.

The need for a structured process to implement and manage Responsible Care® management principles resulted in the Responsible Care® Management System (RCMS) technical standard and RC14001 -2005 technical specifications.