Afton Gains New ISO 14001 and RC14001 Certifications

November 30, 2017 Richmond, VA

As a founding member of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), Afton Chemical has been actively involved from the beginning in supporting its Responsible Care® program. That support has extended to the implementation of the Responsible Care Guiding Principles at all Afton Chemical sites globally, along with being a signee of the Responsible Care Global Charter. Our commitment to the guiding principles of the ACC is aligned with our own values as a company, and further assures our customers, suppliers, employees and the communities where we operate of our resolve to always operate responsibly.  

In 2013 Afton completed certifications for the ISO 14001 Environmental Standards and the RC14001® Technical Specifications, covering its Richmond, Virginia, headquarters; its research and development group; and all of its U.S.-based plants. These technical specifications cover all relevant environmental, health, safety, product stewardship and security requirements. 

In late 2015 the International Standards Organization (ISO) and the ACC completed an update and revision of the ISO and Responsible Care standards and technical specifications. Among the significant changes to the format of the standards and other requirements were an increased emphasis on senior leadership involvement, understanding environmental health and safety (EHS) risks and opportunities, and integration of EHS in the business activities of the organization. As a result of these changes, companies are required to recertify their system to comply with the revised standards in 2018. 

Over the past year, the EHS team at Afton has been preparing and updating our management systems to meet these new requirements, by revising processes and procedures including our Responsible Care policy. These efforts were completed in early 2017, after which preparation was underway for our 2017 surveillance audits. In May 2017 these efforts were completed successfully and Afton received new ISO 14001 and RC14001 certificates to the 2015 standards, applicable to all U.S. operations. Not only is this a notable achievement in its own right, but our teamwork enabled us to complete the recertification process a full year ahead of the assigned deadline.

Kevin Steding
Director, EHS – Responsible Care