Executive Summary & Team Conclusions 

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Stepan Canada Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Stepan Company, a Chicago based global company.  The company’s sole Canadian manufacturing facility, located in Longford Mills Ontario, has a long history of successive businesses and owners going back to the early 1900’s.  It was purchased by Stepan in 1989.  The site is located near Orillia Ontario, and is situated on a narrow piece of land between Lake Couchiching on the west but abutting the shore of Lake St. John on the east.  About 2 Km to the east across Lake St John is a small local airport.  The facility is near the Mnjikaning First Nation Reserve land, and is situated deep in cottage country with vacation and residential neighbours on both lakes.  Also situated on Lake Couchiching, along with cottages are resorts and children summer camps.  A few kilometers away, is Casino Rama, a large gambling casino operating 24 hours a day with thousands of customers daily.  During most times of the year, the transient population far exceeds the residential population. 

The facility manufactures surfactants using both ethoxylation and sulphonation processes.  Its products require chemical reactions; it also has blend facilities and warehouses its products on site.  Many of the Canadian company’s needs are provided through the services of the parent company, Stepan Company.

The Team reviewed the company’s Information Package, interviewed management teams, employees, and its CAP, pertaining to the company’s actions and decision-making processes. 

For the most part, the company does have management systems and infrastructure in place and its management does prioritize programs and activities in order to address requirements of greatest need and concern.  The facility now has a better understanding of the current requirements to meet the code expectations of the CCPA’s Responsible Care elements. 

The team had serious concerns about the rate of progress on certain items critical to the company’s Responsible Care commitment.  However, the company has since been able to demonstrate substantial strides in addressing its environmental and other operating issues since the previous reverification, and more recently in the past year since the current reverification was conducted.  The team is currently confident that many issues from the past are now capable of being resolved through appropriate priority planning, resource allocation and demonstrated progress on these issues. Thus, the Reverification Team’s conclusion is that the company demonstrates at the time of submission this verification report, that there is sufficient understanding of the Responsible Care requirements for the company to be considered as self healing in regards to the Responsible Care ethic. Although there are some critical management system gaps, as described below, the team has accepted that with the application of sufficient staffing prioritization, the company has effective, self-healing management systems in place to address the issues contained in this report such that there is no need for us to return.  Despite the team’s concern over the facility’s earlier limited resources, this team feels that the facility’s management understands the current Responsible Care expectations, is capable of being self-healing, and shows a willingness to address its outstanding issues mentioned in this report.  The team has therefore signed off on the current reverification. The team wishes to congratulate the company on the progress it has made in addressing the findings of the previous reverification.

Summary of Findings, Opportunities Best Practices and Extra Miles

Findings Requiring Action, Opportunities for Improvement, Best Practices and Extra Miles are found in the body of the text under the pertinent sections of the report and are also listed separately at the end of the report.  In all, the team recorded 11 findings and 59 Opportunities for Improvement.  Progress on action to resolve the Findings will require follow-up at each Leadership Group Meeting, with the local CAP, in the company’s annual CEO re-commitment to CCPA, and, along with the decisions pertaining to the Opportunities, in the next Responsible Care re-verification.  The wording of each Finding Requiring Action, Opportunity or other comments found in Appendix 3 is identical to the wording used in the body of the report to avoid any possible misunderstanding of the team’s intent.

Please refer to Appendix 3 at the end of this report for a complete list of all Findings, Opportunities for Improvement, and Best Practices noted by this team.

Signed:                                                     Date: Friday, December 18, 2009
              Roland Blondin
              Team Leader

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