ACC Recognizes 2025 Responsible Care and Sustainability Future Leaders

The American Chemistry Council said eight professionals from chemical manufacturing companies have completed its 2025 Responsible Care and Sustainability Future Leaders Program, a yearlong initiative focused on leadership development, sustainability and advancing the organization’s Responsible Care practices across the industry.

The 2025 graduates include Harrison Dawson of Eastman Chemical, Lauren Gutierrez of Dow, Anissa Jackson of SABIC, Caroline Pearson of Chevron Phillips Chemical, Geoffrey Lyne of Braskem America, Vanessa Thorn of STOCKMEIER Urethanes USA, Katrina Veit of Trinseo and Kenny Yau of Axalta Coating Systems.

According to the council, the program is designed to help emerging leaders better understand industry priorities, policy considerations and EHS&S performance while building practical leadership skills. Participants engaged with ACC staff and senior leadership throughout the year to gain insight into how the association supports member companies and promotes environmental, health, safety and security performance across the chemical value chain.

Responsible Care is the ACC’s environmental, health, safety and security (EHS&S) initiative, where members commit to continuous improvement in managing chemicals, improving environmental protection, enhancing community engagement and transparently reporting performance.

The program is led by Daniel Forest, ACC’s director of data analytics for Responsible Care. Forest said the initiative is intended to strengthen industry resilience by developing leadership capability and supporting workforce development.

According to the ACC, a central component of the program was Chemical Industry Advocacy Week in Washington, D.C., where participants met with congressional offices and ACC leadership to gain firsthand experience with industry advocacy and policy engagement. Participants also attended the association’s Responsible Care and Sustainability Conference, where they participated in technical and strategic sessions and engaged with industry peers.

The program concluded with a webinar, during which participants presented key takeaways and discussed how they plan to apply program learnings within their organizations and across the industry, according to the council.

ACC said applications are now open for the 2026 Responsible Care and Sustainability Future Leaders Program.