SPIK, the premier chemical association in the country, hosted the Annual Chemical Industry Night last December 17, 2014 at the Acacia Hotel in Alabang, Muntinlupa City. The event was participated by members of the Association with invited guests and friends from the government and other industry associations.

Mr. Joey Marcalain presented the Association’s achievements for 2014 during his President’s hour. The report boasted the collaborations with TESDA that led to the development of the production operator’s training module, USAID STRIDE that funded the enhancement of the Chemical Masterplan and ICCA-RCLG for the financial support provided for the Process Safety Workshop, collaboration with Dr. Gobet Advincula on increasing the   capacity of SPIK, achievements of Responsible Care Council and participation to local and international conferences and meetings. The website and other social media connections of SPIK were also announced.

The highlight of the program was the Responsible Care Awards which is SPIK’s way of recognizing member companies who have implemented Responsible Care in their facilities. This also provides motivation to continuously implement Responsible Care programs while encouraging others to adopt Responsible Care in their respective companies.

This year, SPIK honored four companies who practiced Responsible Care ethics in their facilities. They were judged based on five components; member of good standing, submission of Self-Assessment Report (SAR), Key Performance Indicator (KPI), Responsible Care verification and active participation of member- company in the RC organized programs and activities.

Texicon Agriventures Inc., (TAI) located in Guiguinto, Bulacan, a company engaged in the manufacture of pesticides and Brenntag Ingredients, Inc, (BII) located in Taguig City, a trading company, received the Bronze Award. TAI underwent RC verification in 2013 while BII in 2012. Both facilities were re-visited in 2014 to check their compliance with the RC Codes of Management Practices.

The Silver Award was given to Rohm and Haas Phils., Inc (RHPI) – a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Pacific Limited and Stepan Phils, Inc. It must be noted that RHPI underwent a RCMS-based verification when the Advanced Responsible Care Verification workshop was conducted in September 2013. Experts from the Japan Chemical Industry Association (JCIA) and Responsible Care Indonesia (RCI) provided guidance during said event. The Verification Team headed by Pio Ramirez conducted the re-verification last October 2014.

Stepan Phils located in Bauan, Batangas is a multinational company engaged in the manufacture of specialty chemicals. The company demonstrated strong commitment in the practice of Responsible Care. This was observed during the verification in 2013 and re-verification in 2014. It must be noted that all RC Code Stewards were present during the verification.

SPIK also recognized companies who were implementing best practices on the different Responsible Care management codes on Product Stewardship, Employee Health and Safety, Process Safety, Pollution Prevention, Community Awareness and Emergency Response, Distribution and Security.

Trans World Trading Co., Inc. located in Laguna Technopark, Biñan, Laguna received the Best Practice Award on Distribution Code and the Authority to Use the Responsible Care Logo. Best practices were included in the video presentation shown prior to receiving the Awards. In July 11, 2014, the RC Verification Team headed by Pio Ramirez and Silvania Rudolfo, Joy Manzo-Peña and Lourdes Nepomuceno verified the warehousing facility of said company.

On the other hand, Chemlux, Inc. received the best practice award for Employee Health and Safety Code. This company is engaged in the manufacture of products supplied to one of the biggest fast food chains in the country. Having demonstrated the principle on maintaining the cleanliness of their facility and providing the highest quality of health and safety for their employees, the company is yet fitting to receive the award.

The nature of their business demands for a strict compliance on process safety. Every aspect of the plant’s operation need to be assessed by the safety people and provide process safety mitigation along the way. Air Liquide Phils Inc (ALPI) has the highest standards in these fields, from receiving of raw materials until delivery of finished products. Programs on process safety are strictly observed by the employees in the facility and extending to their third party contractors and delivery personnel.

The success of the Responsible Care programs is a consequence of the voluntary efforts of the dedicated Responsible Care Council members who were given recognition during the event.

It was a night of festivities as raffle prizes were given away to the attendees during the chemical industry night.

The event ended by Dir Jess Laguitao who gave his closing remarks with an emphasis to the SPIK’s main events in 2015, the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation- Chemical Dialogue (APEC – CD) and the Asia-Pacific Responsible Care Conference (APRCC).