Responsible production means producing goods and services in an ethical and sustainable manner. For IChemE, it means promoting improved technologies which will minimise the societal and environmental impact of production and consumption cycles, particularly with regards to climate change, while improving the sustainability of the processes used.

Why is this important?

Chemical engineering is a major driver in advancing society. Climate change is a global threat that people around the world are urgently rallying to address.

Although chemical engineering has contributed to many of the most pressing problems of the day, it holds the key to addressing the same problems, through advancement and systems thinking that chemical engineering has at its core. The concept of responsible production drives an improved use of chemical engineering for the benefit of society. It recognises all forms of impact and detriments, and the need to avoid them, in a sustainable way, locally and worldwide when developing or adapting processes, products and activities undertaken.

Detriments include not only the technical aspects of challenges such as waste, climate change, economic and environmental damage, but also the societal impacts highlighted directly or indirectly by the majority of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals also highlight the need, within the role of responsible production, to consider consumption, security of supply, product safety and ethical engineering that encompass sustainability, action on climate change and supporting a move to net zero, systems thinking and life cycle assessment, process intensification/ efficiency gains and the circular economy.