Distributors flock to RC

The European Association of Chemical Distributors (Fecc) has published its Responsible Care Report 2011, revealing that the level of Responsible Care (RC) compliance has now risen from approximately 40 per cent of member national associations to around 55 per cent.

“In the field of risk management there has been an increase in the number of transport accidents and a reduction in the number of incidents on site [at a] company’s premises,” Fecc says. “After an initial period of increases and decreases in the number of incidents, since 2008 we have a similar trend and it seems this has stabilised.”

Fecc notes that the number of assessments under ESAD, the joint initiative between Fecc and the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) that forms part of Cefic’s Safety and Quality Assessment Scheme (SQAS) programme, actually fell last year to 74 from a peak of 111 in 2009; however, Fecc says, as ESAD works on a three-year cycle, it expects to see a recovery in the number of assessments during 2012.

Furthermore, ESAD was reviewed over the past two years and a new version was launched in April 2011. Since July 1, 2011 only the new audit can be used. All assessors have now been retrained and stricter requirements have been imposed on assessors conducting audits outside of their normal territory.

Fecc is also placing a greater emphasis on Responsible Care throughout its activities. A new RC chairman – Robert Stuyt, secretary- general of the Dutch National Association of Chemical Distributors – was appointed in December 2011 and a two-day seminar was organised in Krakow, Poland, in October 2011 to help promote RC policies to the chemical distribution sector in eastern Europe.