Responsible care in European chemical transport

Cefic and ECTA sign agreement on Responsible Care

04-Nov-2008 - United Kingdom

Cefic and ECTA, the European Chemical Transport Association, have signed an agreement to launch the Responsible Care initiative in the European chemical land transport sector. Through this agreement ECTA will develop and co-ordinate a Responsible Care programme in line with the fundamental features of Responsible Care as set out by the International Council of Chemical Associations, ICCA. This includes the reporting on key performance indicators and the setting up of a verification process to prove the implementation of Responsible Care. “We are impressed by the engagement of the chemical transport companies in improving their performance and wish ECTA a successful start. This extension of Responsible Care in the value chain of our industry is a major breakthrough”, said Alain Perroy, Director General of Cefic, at Cefic’s annual Responsible Care conference in Manchester during which the launch was announced.

“A coherent pan European and cross-boundary approach for HSEQ (Health, Safety, and Environment Quality) matters and policies seems appropriate for transport of chemical goods and ancillary logistics services in Europe. That is why ECTA is proud to sign, as representative of the European Chemical Land Transport sector, the Responsible Care Agreement with Cefic, bringing the Global ICCA Responsible Care Principles out of the Factory Gate into the whole Supply Chain in Europe, regardless of where the customer premises are located by reference to the location of the manufacturer of goods delivered. ECTA commits by the signature of this Agreement to contribute to sustainable chemical logistics in Europe“, said Cathy Demeestere, Secretary General of ECTA.

ECTA’s Responsible Care programme will be the first regional Responsible Care programme worldwide. “In the coming years our transport companies will help our customers, the chemical industry, to move their goods to their customers in a climate friendly, co-modal manner within an innovative supply chain vision. We wish to underline a sustainable cooperation between shippers and transport companies in the context of Responsible Care. The future challenges we together will need to address are lack of human resources, increased cost of road usage, optimisation of telematic systems and interconnectivity. Responsible Care means improving transport services not only on the important aspect of safety, but also on its impact on climate, efficiency and quality! In the current financial crisis context, the survival of our transport companies who are investing in safe transport by Responsible Care will also be at stake. Sustainability is a true partnership in taking care of each other’s interests!” said Antonio Montero, CEO of transport company Pañalon and currently President of the ECTA Board of Directors.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/89025/responsible-care-in-european-chemical-transport.html