WHAT IS IT?

Responsible Production was developed to improve chemical hazard management in small and medium sized enterprises. It is designed to increase overall safety and to reduce chemical emergencies and their environmental, social and economic impact by helping companies address the hazards and risks related to the manufacturing, processing and handling of chemical substances in their operations. It is a systematic, continuous improvement approach to chemical safety along the value-chain that will help managers and safety officers address chemical hazards at site as well as promoting chemical safety with business partners and suppliers, clients, and local communities. It provides guidance on understanding hazards, controlling and preventing exposure to hazardous substances, reducing accident risks and engaging stakeholders. It also promotes chemical product stewardship through risk planning, management and communication.

Responsible Production was developed because there is a critical need today for a simple, integrated approach to chemical hazard management that draws on the best and most appropriate guidance from the many different sources. The many guides and tools available in this approach for chemical hazard management can be gathered into three groups:

• Safer Production - operational and management systems and process guidance and tools;
• APELL (Awareness and Preparedness for Emergencies at Local Level) – local emergency preparedness and response guidance and tools as proposed by UNEP
• CSR - corporate social responsibility guidance and tools.

All of these approaches add value in different ways by addressing different aspects important to effective chemical hazard management. But for smaller enterprises it is difficult to have to deal with too many different approaches that contribute to the same results.

Responsible Production has brought the best of all of these approaches into a single, easy to understand and apply framework. It is a single pathway to the benefits of all three approaches: Safer Production, APELL and CSR. It builds on the work of international development agencies and institutions, industry associations, and inter-agency initiatives, in the promotion of chemical hazard management and emergency preparedness in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, as well as leading CSR initiatives.

WHY DO WE NEED IT?

Implementing Responsible Production should involve national and local level authorities from the relevant sectors to raise their awareness, build their capacity and ensure their support. Responsible Production can also support the implementation of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management – SAICM. In many countries, including many developing countries, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises form the heart of the industrial sectors where hazardous chemicals are manufactured, transported, repackaged and/or used. The agrochemical, chemical, leather and tanning, metal finishing, mining, paint and coatings, pharmaceutical, and plastics are among some of the sectors of concern. The risks they face and manage associated with hazardous manufacturing and handling operations are having an increasing impact on business success, as well as on the environment and society. As a result, the way in which these businesses operate is changing. The most successful businesses no longer see risk management as a cost of doing business. They see it as a way to gain competitive advantage and to build sustainability into core business operations.

Companies need to respond to a range of important drivers.

• They need to gain and keep customers and clients who are increasingly looking for evidence of effective risk management.
• They need a license to operate from the communities they work in and from the people whose lives they affect.
• They need to strip out of their price base the increasing cost of accidents,incidents and clean up.
• They need to develop new products and processes that are inherently safer.
• They need to understand, select and manage their own business partners and suppliers so that they are not taking on any unsuspected or unacceptable risk.

WHO NEEDS IT?

Though the role of managers and safety officers is emphasised, Responsible Production will also benefit local authorities and government officials who have an interest in ensuring and enforcing responsible chemical hazard management. The Responsible Production framework provides a set of indicators that can be used to assess performance and develop benchmarks and can be used to support planning, inspection and continuous improvement activities. Local authorities and government officers should be seen by business as a source of information, expertise and constructive input. Plans and outputs can be reviewed by local authorities and government officers to better understand and develop appropriate responses to significant issues. Businesses should look to local authorities and government officers to support their improvement. Local authorities and government officers can also play a role in collaborating with other businesses in the area and at the regional and national level. Responsible Production is also for large companies that do business with Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. They will need some assurance that smaller organisations are managing chemical hazards safely and responsibly, without having to impose their own sophisticated management systems requirements. Responsible Production provides a basis for larger businesses to develop confidence in the operations of the smaller companies with which they have relationships.