RBA Publishes Chemical Management Due Diligence Guide

ALEXANDRIA, Va., August 6, 2024 /3BL/ - The Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) today announced the publication of its Practical Guide to Chemical Management Due Diligence in Supply Chains to promote a collective understanding on best practices to safeguard workers’ health and the environment.

Chemicals are essential for producing countless industrial, commercial, and consumer products and their usage is expected to grow. However, global awareness of potential social and environmental risks has also increased demands for industry to mitigate and eliminate chemical management risks across their supply chains.

The implementation of risk-based due diligence systems is a widely recognized and OECD-aligned approach to addressing human rights and environmental risks. Legislation, such as the European Union Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), will also mandate that companies develop and implement risk-based due diligence systems throughout their supply chains, as a matter of legal compliance with due diligence and sustainability reporting requirements.

The RBA Guide is designed to provide a risk-based due diligence template for facilities that seek to manage their chemical risks, using a standardized approach. This Guide builds on the RBA’s long-standing expertise in developing supply chain due diligence tools to facilitate member risk-based identification management, mitigation and reporting. It reflects RBA member companies’ experiences and learnings from intergovernmental organizations, worker organizations, industry associations, and leading multi-stakeholder chemical stewardship initiatives. Leveraging the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct six-step due diligence process, the Guide seeks to promote a collective understanding among businesses, governments, NGOs, worker and employer organizations, and other stakeholders on responsible chemical management conduct.

“Common due diligence approaches to responsible chemical management protect supply chain workers and the environment, support compliance with emerging legal requirements, foster adoption of best practices, and drive collective progress,” said Holly Evans, Senior Vice President, Environmental Policy and Legal Affairs, Responsible Business Alliance. “We are pleased to offer this Guide as a public resource, to help advance the dialogue on these important issues.”

The RBA recognizes the importance of harmonization in advancing global sustainability and has developed many resources, tools and services to support member companies and their suppliers with developing coordinated and aligned due diligence practices to identify, assess and address human rights and environmental risks. These resources support the implementation of a set of social, environmental and ethical performance standards set forth in the RBA Code of Conduct. Protecting workers and the environment from chemical management risks has been a core component of the RBA Code since its inception in 2004.

The RBA Practical Guide to Chemical Management Due Diligence in Supply Chains is publicly available on the RBA website.

About the Responsible Business Alliance
The Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) is a mission-driven organization comprised of leading companies dedicated to responsible business conduct in their global supply chains. The RBA has a Code of Conduct and a range of programs, training and assessment tools to support continuous improvement. The organization has a global footprint, with offices in North America, Europe and Asia. The RBA and its Responsible Minerals, Labor and Factory Initiatives have more than 500 members with combined annual revenues of greater than $7.7 trillion, directly employing over 21.5 million people, with products manufactured in more than 120 countries. For more information, visit ResponsibleBusiness.org.

Media Contact
Jarrett Bens, Senior Director of Communications
Responsible Business Alliance
Phone: +1 571.858.5721
jbens@responsiblebusiness.org