Responsible handling of chemicals

For the Chemicals Business Area, that includes product stewardship as defined by the chemical industry’s Responsible Care initiative, which Evonik explicitly supports.

Responsible Care is a global initiative of the chemical industry which imposes a voluntary obligation on thousands of companies with millions of employees to go beyond statutory requirements. Industry associations in 53 countries participate in this initiative through their own national Responsible Care programs. The overall goals of the Responsible Care initiative are to foster sustainability, promote product stewardship, increase safety at production sites and for local communities, and improve occupational health and environmental protection.

This unique initiative was launched in Canada in 1985 and is now run under the auspices of the International Council of Chemical Associations. In European it is coordinated by the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic). Germany has had a Responsible Care program since 1991.

Evonik’s Chemicals Business Area and the companies from which it was formed embraced the Responsible Care principles from the start. We regard our commitment to Responsible Care as an integral part of our corporate responsibility.

As a member of ECETOC (European Centre of Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals) Evonik is working on toxicological issues and the development of methods of assessing the risk of chemicals. It is also an active partner for the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) in matters relating to the toxicological evaluation of chemicals.