Assessing Responsible Care implementation for sustainability in Malaysian chemical industries
International Journal of Workplace Health Management
ISSN: 1753-8351
Article publication date: 27 July 2021
Issue publication date: 4 November 2021
Abstract
Purpose
The Responsible Care programme was first introduced in Canada in 1985 and now is implemented worldwide as one of the chemical industries' commitments to improve the industries' public image as well as their performance in health, safety and environmental aspects. In Malaysia, the Responsible Care programme has been implemented since 1994 with a current total of 148 companies pledged to implement it in their company; however, the effectiveness of the programme remains unknown. Hence, this paper aims to assess the effectiveness of the Responsible Care programme in improving performance in the environment, health and safety in terms of documentation, training, selection processes and stakeholders' engagement for the sustainability of chemical industries.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was administered to the Responsible Care signatory companies in Malaysia. Of these, a total of 132 member companies either produced or provided services related to chemical products.
Findings
The majority of signatory companies agreed that the Responsible Care programme did improve their performance in the environment, health and safety. Besides that, the signatory companies were also keeping up their commitment to ensuring documentation, training, selection process and stakeholders' engagement run smoothly in line with Responsible Care's mission.
Originality/value
After more than two decades of implementation in Malaysia, it is important to assess the Responsible Care programme's effectiveness. As an increasing number of chemical firms, without good management, it will possibly pose a danger to the environment and human health and safety. Through assessment, advances in Responsible Care management practices will considerably increase programme effectiveness in terms of environmental health and safety.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support for this study provided by Ministry of Higher Education, through Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS/1/2019/WAB05/UKM/02/2). The authors would like to thank the Chemical Industries of Malaysia (CICM) for providing reference materials and information which have been very helpful in writing this paper.
Citation
Muhamad Khair, N.K., Lee, K.E., Mokhtar, M., Goh, C.T., Singh, H. and Chan, P.W. (2021), "Assessing Responsible Care implementation for sustainability in Malaysian chemical industries", International Journal of Workplace Health Management, Vol. 14 No. 5, pp. 542-554. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWHM-01-2020-0010
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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