Responsible Distribution

Responsible Distribution is the chemical distribution industry’s management-system standard. Membership in the association requires it, and compliance is verified by third-party audit rather than asserted.

What the standard covers

• Supplier and carrier selection — qualifying who we buy from and who moves the product
• Product stewardship — understanding the hazards of what we handle and passing that knowledge downstream
• Handling and storage — compatible segregation, containment, and inspection
• Transportation safety — driver qualification, equipment condition, load securement
• Employee health and safety — training, PPE, exposure control
• Emergency response — planning, drills, and a 24-hour capability
• Community awareness — being a neighbour the surrounding area is not worried about
• Continuous improvement — measured, documented, and audited

Why it should matter to a buyer

Chemical distribution is a business where failures are expensive and occasionally catastrophic. A distributor running a real management system is less likely to deliver the wrong material, store incompatible products together, or put an under-qualified driver on the road with a placarded load.

We recognise that our customers’ quality depends in part on the quality of their suppliers. That is the entire argument for holding the standard rather than simply claiming to be careful.

A note on the association’s name

The association formerly known as NACD now operates as the Alliance for Chemical Distribution. The Responsible Distribution program itself is unchanged. Older certificates and documents may carry either name — both refer to the same program and the same verification.

Verification documents are available on request: documents@mileschemical.com.