On Saturday, we celebrated Earth Day, and like last year, this year’s theme was “Invest in Our Planet.” I took time to reflect on where we are as a country, as an industry, and as individuals in our efforts to become better stewards of our environment and actively engaged members of our communities.
Everyone deserves clean air, water, and access to a healthy, sustainable future. The American Chemistry Council (ACC) and our members have a long history of engaging and supporting communities, regardless of color, creed, or social standing. We are committed to working together with the communities where we operate to listen to their concerns and advance programs that help address their specific needs.
We’ve demonstrated this commitment, in part, through 35 years of Responsible Care® — a mandatory ACC member program which includes transparent reporting of environmental performance in areas such as air quality, emissions intensity and water use, as well as worker, facility and transportation safety.
ACC and our members are creating solutions that accelerate progress toward a better quality of life, and more sustainable communities, for people everywhere. Chemical companies are working within their communities to demonstrate how chemistry fuels progress—across sustainability, energy and climate, transportation and infrastructure, and circularity.
As my colleagues noted at the annual Responsible Care & Sustainability Conference last week, our industry is ever evolving. Chemical companies are manufacturing products and developing processes and technologies that play a crucial role in improving quality of life and addressing critical community challenges, including addressing climate change and its impacts, enhancing access to clean water, monitoring and improving air quality in the communities where we operate, and rebuilding an aging infrastructure — all issues which have impact on communities across our nation.
At ACC, we envision and continually work toward a world made better by chemistry, where all people live happier, healthier, and more prosperous lives, safely and sustainably — for generations to come.
