Chemical Responsible Care

RC14001® and RCMS®

RC14001® and RCMS®

The Responsible Care® initiative was created to enable America’s leading chemical companies to achieve even higher standards of environmental, health, safety and security performance and generate greater value for their businesses. 

The Responsible Care® initiative was created to enable America’s leading chemical companies to achieve even higher standards of environmental, health, safety and security performance and generate greater value for their businesses. 
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RC14001 RCMS chemical responsible care banner
RC14001 RCMS chemical responsible care banner
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What are RC14001® and RCMS®?

RC14001® is a technical standard that combines ISO 14001 with the Responsible Care Management System (RCMS) ® requirements to achieve higher standards of performance and create greater value for your business. RCMS® is a technical specification, based on the Responsible Care codes to manage risk throughout environmental, health, safety, security and transportation processes.

Who are RC14001® and RCMS® certifications for?

Implementing RC14001® or RCMS® is technically a voluntary program; however, the American Chemistry Council requires certification for its member companies and partners.

This technical specification was originally created for chemical companies and their suppliers, but you do not need to be an ACC member to seek certification.

What are the benefits of RC14001® and RCMS®?

  • Improve EHS, security and value chain performance
  • Integrate a risk management system in a cost-effective process
  • Demonstrate commitment to community outreach
  • Meet membership requirements for the American Chemistry Council

Responsible Care Management System

Whether you are new to Responsible Care or looking to take your expertise further, we have the right training courses, resources, and services. We offer packages that can be customized to your business to jumpstart your management system certification – cutting the cost of services you do not need. A Responsible Care package can be designed to remove the complexity of getting you where you want to be – whatever your starting point. The codes of the Responsible Care program include:  

  • Adhering to the Responsible Care Guiding Principles
  • Implementing the Responsible Care Product Safety Code, Process Safety Code, and Security Code
  • Measuring and publicly reporting performance, using the Responsible Care Performance Measures
  • Applying the modern Responsible Care Management System to achieve and verify results


Certification must be renewed every three years, and companies can choose one of two certification options:

  • RCMS® certification, which verifies that a company has implemented the Responsible Care Management System; or
  • RC14001®, which combines Responsible Care and ISO 14001 certification into a single, cost-effective process.

An Index of RCMS Documents and the RCMS Technical Specifications are publicly available from the American Chemistry Council.