Responsible Care (RC) is a quality management initiative conducted voluntarily and globally by the chemical industry. With RC, the industry assures “safety, health, and the preserved environment” throughout the life cycle of chemical products, starting from development, through manufacturing, logistics, use and consumption, and ultimately ending in disposal, and then maintains and improves the quality of the manufactured chemical products so that it can promote communication with the community, which helps build more social trust. The Hodogaya Chemical Group considers RC activities as one of the most important pillars of management. Under the basic principle “ensuring environmental conservation, health and safety, and product quality is fundamental to corporate management and the basis for all business activities,” it conducts initiatives that encompass environmental preservation, security and disaster prevention, workplace safety and health, chemical/product safety, quality assurance, logistics safety, and communication with society.
Also, we evaluate our overall business operations in accordance with our established Responsible Care Rules, and disclose to the public our business goals and measures for comprehensive safety management of chemicals as the “Basic Philosophy of RC” and “Basic Policies of RC,” and then create awareness about the importance of the philosophy and policies among our employees through education and training.
Responsible care (RC) is a voluntary management initiative intended for companies involved in the production and handling of chemical substances to implement and improve their environmental, health and safety measures across the product lifecycle, from development to disposal.
Hodogaya Chemical became a member of the apan Responsible Care Council (JRCC) n 1997, declaring engagement in responsible care and establishing the Basic Philosophy of RC and the Basic Policies of RC.
The Basic Policies of RC outlines our approach to conducting a sound business, in accordance with the Basic Philosophy of RC, by actively protecting the environment, ensuring safety, health and quality, and making continual improvement to coexist with society.
Since then, annual objectives based on the Basic Policies of RC are created every year, and every member of our organization is actively involved in the efforts to promote the RC initiatives to improve our performance with regard to the environment, safety, health and quality which are the bedrock of our business activities.
Hodogaya Chemical hereby sets forth the basic philosophy of Responsible Care (RC) to protect the environment and ensure the safety and health of people, and declares its engagement in the practice of Responsible Care through its ordinary business activities.
June 23, 1997
The executive officer who supervises the Environment and Safety Department is responsible for RC activities. The RC & QM Subcommittee chaired by the executive officer is held four times a year, during which RC activity plans are formulated, achievements are evaluated, and all things related to RC activities company-wide are discussed and decided. The RC goals for the following fiscal year are deliberated on during the Management Committee, and then, decided and approved by the President, assuring the top management’s involvement. To achieve the RC goals, the Hodogaya Chemical Group obtained an integrated certification regarding ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 based on “Basic Philosophy of RC,” striving for the successful management of the goals through the PDCA cycle and continuous improvement.
Also, at each office, the occupational safety and health promoters conduct RC activities according to the office or unit’s own plan formulated based on the RC goals.
In accordance with “Basic Philosophy of RC,” “Basic Policies of RC,” and “Responsible Care Rules,” the RC audit is implemented to verify whether or not activities are conducted within the scope of the ISO Management System Standards and RC plan, and are effective.
The audit team comprising the leader and members of the RC & QM Subcommittee confirms whether RC activities are conducted in an appropriate manner, and the PDCA cycle is steadily implemented at the head office, each plant, research center, or affiliated company; the team also checks the environment, safety, or health-related compliance matters.
If outstanding issues or potential risks related to environment, safety, health, and quality are identified through the RC audit, these are highlighted to call for corrective action.
In FY2022, the RC audit was conducted 9 times at the head office, plants, research center, and affiliated companies.
In order to gain understanding on RC initiatives and to ensure steady implementation, the Hodogaya Chemical Group provides new employees and transferees with structured education on the Seven codes of Responsible Care (management system, environmental conservation, security and disaster prevention, occupational safety and health, logistic safety, chemicals and product safety, and dialogue with society) as well as on quality management or quality assurance.
We also provide regular training sessions every year to develop human resources for ISO management system internal auditors.
Tsukuba Research Laboratory
Yamato Shima
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.