Overview

The Corporate self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) on Chemical Management Maturity (Corporate SAQ-CM) is an environmental survey tool available in RBA-Online for RBA members to evaluate and benchmark their company's corporate-level chemical management policies, programs, and management systems against industry standards and best practices. Maturity, in this context, refers to how systematically and proactively a company has embedded responsible chemical management into its corporate strategy and governance, moving from baseline compliance towards continuous improvement and industry leadership.

Unlike the Facility SAQ on Chemical Management Intensity (Facility SAQ-CM) that is deployed to supply chain facilities, the Corporate SAQ-CM is completed as a self-assessment exercise at the corporate- or enterprise-level by the team(s) responsible for establishing and overseeing the chemical management strategy and implementation practices across their organization. The Corporate SAQ-CM evaluates chemical management maturity at the corporate-level across several dimensions, including:

• Chemical management policies that govern their facilities and supplier facilities 
• Integration of safer and sustainable chemical management into business strategy
• External engagements and advocacy on proactive chemical management
• Management accountability and responsibility mechanisms
• Hazard assessment of chemical products used for products sold
• Management of restricted substances, including process chemicals and chemicals in products
• Collection and management of chemical ingredient information from chemical product suppliers
• Supplier conformance with chemical management requirements
• Chemical footprint measurement, goal setting, and ongoing management
• Exploration of safer alternatives for chemical products containing substances of concern

To access the Corporate SAQ-CM, please refer to the RBA Knowledge Base guidance article ‘How to Access the Environmental Survey in RBA-Online’.

Background

The Corporate SAQ-CM was developed based on the CFP 2025 Product Survey portion of the Chemical Footprint Project (CFP) Survey, developed and maintained by the Clean Production Action (CPA). Since the Corporate SAQ-CM's question structure, scoring rubric, and evidence documentation requirements are closely aligned with the CFP Survey, companies may draw upon existing CFP Survey responses and completing the Corporate SAQ-CM helps position companies on partaking in the full CFP Survey.

The Corporate SAQ-CM serves as a supporting resource for companies participating in the Leader pathway of the RBA's Chemical Management Leadership Program (CMLP) to implement Action 1.2 (A1.2) on self-assessing their corporate-level chemical management maturity. Participation in the full CFP Survey is also an acceptable means for implementing CMLP A1.2.