Responsible Care (RC) is a voluntary global initiative of the chemical industry. It is designed to ensure safety, health, and environmental protection across the entire life cycle of chemical products—from development and manufacturing through logistics, use, final consumption, and disposal—while also maintaining and enhancing product quality. Through these activities, the industry fosters dialogue with local communities and works to deepen public trust.
The Hodogaya Chemical Group regards RC activities as one of the most important pillars of its management. Guided by the fundamental principle that “environmental conservation, safety and health, and product quality constitute the foundation of corporate management and the basis of all business activities,” we pursue initiatives spanning environmental preservation, security and disaster prevention, occupational safety and health, chemical and product safety, quality assurance, logistics safety, and engagement with society.
Furthermore, we have established Responsible Care Rules to evaluate our overall business operations. We disclose our management objectives and measures for comprehensive chemical safety management as the “RC Basic Philosophy” and “RC Basic Policies,” and we ensure that their importance is thoroughly communicated to all employees through systematic education and training.
Hodogaya Chemical joined the Japan Responsible Care Council (JRCC) in 1997, declared its commitment to Responsible Care (RC), and established the Basic Philosophy of RC and the Basic Policies of RC.
The Basic Policies of RC form the foundation of our sound business practices. In line with the Basic Philosophy of RC, they emphasize actively ensuring environmental protection, safety, health, and quality, while striving for continuous improvement and harmonious coexistence with society.
Since then, we have established annual RC objectives based on these policies, with all employees engaged in promoting RC activities. Through these efforts, we are proactively working to secure the environment, safety, health, and quality, which constitute the very basis of our business activities.
Hodogaya Chemical hereby establishes the Basic Philosophy of Responsible Care (RC) to protect the environment and ensure human safety and health, and declares its commitment to implementing Responsible Care activities through its day-to-day business operations.
June 23, 1997
The executive officer who supervises the Environment and Safety Department is responsible for RC activities.
The RC & QM Subcommittee, chaired by this executive officer, meets four times a year to formulate RC activity plans, evaluate results, and review and approve company-wide RC initiatives.
The RC goals for the following fiscal year are deliberated by the Management Committee, approved, and then reported to the Board of Directors, thereby ensuring top management’s commitment.
In line with the “Basic Philosophy of RC,” the Hodogaya Chemical Group engages in initiatives to achieve its RC goals.
As part of this implementation framework, we have obtained integrated certification for ISO management systems (ISO 9001 and ISO 14001) covering all domestic business sites of Hodogaya Chemical as well as all domestic sites of Group companies.
Although we have not obtained ISO 45001 certification, we adopt equivalent measures by holding safety and health committee meetings at each site at least once a month and by disseminating and sharing information on safety and health.
Through these efforts, we strive to manage goals via the PDCA cycle and to pursue continuous improvement.
The company-wide RC plan is further broken down into site-level and workplace-level plans, with occupational safety and health promoters at each workplace taking the lead in advancing RC activities.
In accordance with the “Basic Philosophy of RC,” “Basic Policies of RC,” and “Responsible Care Rules,” RC audits are conducted to verify whether RC activities are properly implemented according to the RC plan and ISO management system, and whether they are functioning effectively.
The audit team, composed of the leader and members of the RC & QM Subcommittee, checks whether RC activities are appropriately carried out and the PDCA cycle is effectively operating at the head office, each plant, research center, and affiliated company; the team also reviews compliance related to environment, safety, and health.
Any identified issues or potential risks related to environment, safety, health, and quality are clearly highlighted to prompt corrective actions.
In FY2024, the RC audit was conducted nine times at the head office, plants, research center, and affiliated companies.
To promote understanding of RC activities and ensure their steady implementation, the Hodogaya Chemical Group provides new employees and employees who have been transferred to a new department or workplace with structured training on the Seven Codes of Responsible Care (management system, environmental conservation, security and disaster prevention, occupational safety and health, logistics safety, chemicals and product safety, and dialogue with society), as well as on quality management or quality assurance.
We also conduct regular annual training for ISO management system internal auditors to foster human resources.
Fumio Wanme
Executive Officer
The Hodogaya Chemical Group regards Responsible Care activities as one of the most important pillars of management, engaging in initiatives that encompass environmental conservation, security and disaster prevention, workplace safety and health, chemical and product safety, quality assurance, logistics safety, and dialogue with society.
Furthermore, through the promotion of digital transformation (DX), the Group is working to streamline business processes and enhance data-driven decisionmaking, thereby improving safety and productivity while reducing environmental impact. In doing so, we aim to realize environmentally friendly manufacturing and build a new foundation to support value creation.
Tsukuba Research Laboratory
Research and Development Department
T.M.
My group handles various chemicals used to create new products. Since improper handling can lead to serious accidents, we conduct a risk assessment for all chemicals used during our monthly workplace safety and health meetings, sharing information on hazards and countermeasures. We also pay careful attention to the laboratory environment. As team members become more experienced, their workbenches and surrounding areas tend to become ‘their own space,’ but to someone else, it may appear as though they are falling behind in 4S practices (Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize). For this reason, starting a few years ago, our group members have gathered every Friday to check that 4S practices are upheld. While gaining proficiency in our work is important, we aim to maintain awareness of potential risks and foster a safety-conscious culture to achieve zero accidents and incidents.
Tsukuba Research Laboratory
Y.S.
As an occupational safety and health promoter, my job is to create an annual action plan on the various environmental and safety issues that need to be addressed at our workplace, and to execute and control the progress of the plan. At the monthly occupational safety and health meeting of the Functional Materials Group, lively discussions are held among superiors and subordinates, seniors and juniors, regardless of rank, and I feel that through various initiatives, there is a growing momentum in which each of us think about safety more seriously.
Environment and safety are critical theme that constitute the bedrock of our business activities and are essential in gaining social trust and coexisting with society. It is a theme that must be grappled by the collaborative effort of all employees, and I am also committed to fulfill my own role, cooperating with others, giving attention to environment and safety at all times.