Brussels,

Chemicals Strategy​

​The European Union's strategy on chemicals, particularly outlined in the "Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability: Towards a Toxic-Free Environment," is a pivotal component of the European Green Deal, aiming for a zero-pollution future.

This strategy sets forth a comprehensive framework designed to transition the EU towards safer and more sustainable chemicals, with a dual emphasis on protecting human health and the environment, and fostering innovation in the chemical sector.

Key aspects of this strategy include:

Objectives

• Protection of Human Health and the Environment: It prioritizes reducing the risks associated with hazardous chemicals to ensure a high level of environmental and health protection.
• Innovation for Safe and Sustainable Chemicals: The strategy encourages the development of chemicals that are safe for human health and the environment throughout their lifecycle, from production to disposal.
• Transition to Safe and Sustainable Chemicals: It aims to facilitate the shift towards chemicals designed to be safe and sustainable, thereby supporting the EU's broader environmental and digital transition goals.

Acknowledgments

• Role of Chemicals: The strategy recognizes the indispensable role chemicals play in everyday life and in the economic sector, highlighting their importance in achieving a green and digital transition in Europe.
• Health and Environmental Challenges: It addresses the need to mitigate the adverse effects of the most harmful chemicals, including banning such substances in consumer products and ensuring safer and more sustainable chemical use.

Actions and Policies

• Prohibiting Harmful Chemicals: It proposes stricter regulations to limit or ban the use of the most dangerous chemicals in consumer products.
• Promotion of Innovation: By boosting investment and innovation, the strategy aims to support the development and application of chemicals that are safe and sustainable by design.
• Global Leadership: The EU aspires to lead globally in the production and use of safe and sustainable chemicals, setting an example for environmental stewardship and public health protection.

Consultation and Impact Assessments

• Inception Impact Assessments: The strategy includes assessments for REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals) and CLP (Classification, Labelling, and Packaging), inviting public commentary to refine and enhance policy measures.

​Comprehensive Approach
​The EU's chemicals strategy embodies a holistic approach to chemical management, balancing economic development with environmental sustainability and public health. Through this strategy, the EU aims to pioneer a global shift towards a safer, cleaner, and more sustainable chemical industry.

Transition pathway for the chemical industry

Integrating the details of the transition pathway for the chemical industry into the broader context of the European Union's strategy on chemicals enhances our understanding of the EU's commitment to a sustainable and digitally integrated future, particularly within the chemical sector. This transition pathway, published by the European Commission in January 2023, is a significant step forward in realizing the ambitions laid out in the "Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability: Towards a Toxic-Free Environment," itself a cornerstone of the European Green Deal aiming for zero pollution.

Transition Pathway: A Collaborative Effort

• Co-Development: The pathway is the result of a collaborative effort involving the European Commission, EU countries, stakeholders from the chemical industry, NGOs, and other interested parties. This inclusive approach ensures that the plan is comprehensive, actionable, and reflects the needs and insights of all relevant sectors.
• Alignment with EU Industrial Strategy: It is designed in line with the updated EU industrial strategy, aiming to foster the green and digital transition of the EU's industrial base while improving resilience, especially in critical sectors like the chemical industry.

Key Features of the Transition Pathway

• Actionable Plan: The pathway outlines an actionable plan comprising more than 150 actions spread across 26 topics, designed to steer the chemical industry towards a more sustainable, innovative, and resilient future.
• Agreed Timelines: These actions are to be implemented within agreed timeframes, facilitating a structured and timely transition.
• Focus on Twin Transition: Acknowledging the chemical industry's crucial role in the European economy—the fourth largest industry in the EU—and its significance in nearly 95% of manufactured goods, the pathway targets the 'twin transition'. This refers to the dual challenge of becoming more sustainable and digitally advanced.
• CO2 Emissions and Sustainability: Given that the chemical industry is among the largest CO2 emitters in the EU, the pathway emphasizes actions that reduce carbon footprints, promote energy efficiency, and encourage the development of sustainable chemical products and processes.

Integration with the Chemicals Strategy

Integrating the transition pathway for the chemical industry with the broader EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability illustrates a nuanced approach to achieving a toxic-free environment. The pathway provides a specific, actionable framework that complements the strategy's objectives of protecting human health and the environment, boosting innovation for safe and sustainable chemicals, and enabling the transition to safe and sustainable chemicals by design.
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This combined approach underscores the EU's commitment to leveraging innovation, regulatory frameworks, and stakeholder collaboration to address the environmental and health challenges posed by the chemical industry, while also securing its role in Europe's green and digital future. Through these aligned efforts, the EU aims to maintain global leadership in the production and use of safe and sustainable chemicals, ensuring the well-being of its citizens and the environment.

What EU is doing to support Chemicals Industry

​The European Commission actively fosters the growth and innovation of the chemicals industry within the EU, recognizing its vital role in the region's economy and its significant energy consumption. The Commission's efforts aim to support the sector through various strategies, focusing on competitiveness, innovation, regulation, and sustainability.

Here's a summary of the key initiatives and actions the Commission is undertaking:

Competitiveness and Innovation

• Structural Change Support: Implementation of policies that promote the clustering of related sectors and the adoption of smart specialization strategies at the regional level to stimulate significant investments.
• Innovation Encouragement: The chemicals sector is at the forefront of innovation, offering solutions to societal challenges and supporting other economic sectors. The Commission encourages new forms of industrial cooperation and investment in bio-refineries, recycling industries, and import terminals for gas.

Regulation

• Legislative Quality and Enforcement: Ensuring high-quality legislation and its proper enforcement is crucial to achieve health, environmental goals, and ensure fair competition. The removal of trade barriers is also targeted to enhance the global competitiveness of the EU chemicals industry.
• Fitness Check and REACH Regulation: A comprehensive fitness check on chemicals legislation, excluding REACH, was conducted to assess the effectiveness of existing laws. The REACH Regulation, reviewed every five years, monitors the progress in achieving its objectives, including the safety of chemicals and the protection of human health and the environment.

Supporting Studies and Assessments

• Cumulative Costs Analysis: Studies have been launched to analyze the cumulative costs of EU legislation on the chemicals industry, aiming to assess its impact on competitiveness compared to international counterparts.
• Innovation in Nanotechnologies and Materials: The Commission explores the potential of nanotechnologies and new materials, ensuring their safe application across various consumer products and industrial processes.

Resource and Energy Efficiency

• Driving Efficiency: The chemicals industry is viewed as a key player in advancing resource and energy efficiency, contributing to sustainability and economic growth through initiatives like the SPIRE program and the bio-based industry joint undertaking under Horizon 2020.

​Bio-economy and Circular Economy

• Bio-based Procurement and Joint Undertakings: Guidance and initiatives to support the bio-economy, promoting economic growth, sustainability, and reduced fossil fuel dependency. The collaboration between the chemicals, agriculture, and waste sectors fosters new business opportunities and reinforces the circular economy concept.

Regulatory Framework Review

• Safety of Nanomaterials: Reviewing regulatory frameworks to ensure the safety of nanomaterials, with significant research funded under Horizon 2020 and previous framework programmes.

Directorate General (DG) Actions

• Implementation of Legislation: DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship, and SMEs is responsible for implementing EU legislation related to chemicals, ensuring compliance with REACH, CLP, GLP, and sector-specific regulations.

Through these comprehensive strategies, the European Commission not only aims to enhance the competitiveness and innovation capacity of the chemicals industry but also to ensure its sustainability, safety, and alignment with the broader goals of the European Green Deal and the EU industrial strategy.

EU Agencies, Authorities, International players

REACH

• European Commission: The European Commission plays an important role in ensuring the implementation of the REACH Regulation. It also adopts measures to update and complete the Regulation. These measures comprise authorisation decisions; new restrictions to deal with unacceptable risks of particular chemicals; laying down test methods; and determining the fees companies pay to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).
• European Chemicals Agency: The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) ensures the effective management of the technical, scientific, and administrative aspects of REACH. ECHA provides information on REACH to companies and the general public. It also develops IT tools and guidance documents to support industry and public authorities in fulfilling their obligations under REACH. A wide range of information is available through the ECHA’s website, including legislative texts, summaries of the legislation, press materials, brochures, guidance documents, frequently asked questions (FAQs), and links to national helpdesks. A database covering hazardous properties, classification, and information on how to use registered substances safely is also publicly available.
• National Authorities: National authorities are responsible for enforcing REACH by establishing official controls and penalties for non-compliance. They exchange information and coordinate their enforcement activities through the Forum for Exchange of Information on Enforcement.
• Competent Authorities for REACH and CLP (CARACAL): This expert group advises the Commission and ECHA on the implementation of REACH and CLP. The group is composed of representatives of national Competent Authorities for REACH and CLP, representatives of Competent Authorities of the European Economic Area and European Free Trade Association (EEA-EFTA countries), as well as a number of observers from non-EU countries, stakeholders from industry and trade associations, NGOs, trade unions, and international organisations. For further information, see the Register of Commission Expert Groups.
  • Publicly available documents from the CARACAL meetings can be found on the CircaBC platform (no registration or login required) under the group called "CARACAL documents". Click here for direct access and consult the Library.

International aspects

The chemicals industry is a global industry and this requires that the Commission works with a number of international bodies:

• Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) promotes effective policies and tools for protecting human health and the environment. It offers support tools for information gathering, testing, and the assessment and management of the safety of chemicals and pesticides. The Mutual Acceptance of Data (MAD) scheme across different jurisdictions greatly reduces the costs. The Commission provides significant financial support to the OECD Chemicals Programme and actively participates in its work.

• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP )

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Chemicals Branch is the centre for all the chemicals-related activities of the United Nations Environment Programme. It also promotes the UN system for global action on the environmentally sound management of chemicals, e.g. through SAICM (Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management) and the Basel, Stockholm, Rotterdam, and Minamata Conventions.
Both the Commission and EU countries have provided significant support to UNEP Chemicals. Further information

• World Trade Organisation (WTO)

The REACH Regulation has been notified to the WTO and its Members under the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBC) Agreement (reference G/TBT/N/EEC/52).
Further information can be found on the Technical Barriers to Trade database and on the WTO website.

• Bilateral activities

The Commission holds dialogues with important trade partners such as Japan to exchange information about implementing REACH and legislation relating to chemicals in the countries concerned.
Discussions on chemicals regulation are also held within the context of Free Trade Agreement negotiations. These help identify the extent to which the agreement can be mutually beneficial for the EU and non-EU countries.

• European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA)

The European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA) promotes the development and implementation of methods to replace, reduce and refine animal testing (known as the '3Rs'). It also promotes modern approaches in safety testing.
The EPAA is a public-private partnership between the Commission, European trade associations from various industry sectors, and individual companies. Its activities include:

• mapping and disseminating information about in-house methods and research programmes
• supporting the development of alternative approaches and testing strategies
• removing barriers to validation and regulatory acceptance of the '3Rs'
• holding dialogues with regulators on 3Rs and testing requirements

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CLP

The European Commission
The European Commission periodically updates the CLP legislation, mostly to adapt the Annex of CLP on harmonised classification and to align CLP to Revisons of the UN GHS.
The Commission is also involved in:

• following GHS updates
• harmonising the information flow to poison centres.

In these tasks, the Commission is supported by a Regulatory Committee composed of representatives from all EU countries, responsible for CLP and REACH. In parallel, CLP implementation issues are discussed in the group of Competent Authorities for REACH and CLP (CARACAL).

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)

• Provides technical and scientific guidance on classification criteria, and on labelling and packaging requirements
• Provides EU countries and EU institutions with scientific and technical advice on chemicals
• Receives notifications for hazardous substances and publishes them through the Classification & Labelling (C&L) inventory
• Handles requests for the use of an alternative chemical name (CLP Article 24)
• Receives proposals for harmonised classification and labelling of substances. Its Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) adopts an opinion on these proposals
• Manages HelpNet, the network of national CLP Helpdesks.
  • Go to the ECHA website

UN – Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) subsidiary bodies
The Sub-Committee of Experts on the GHS (SCE GHS) is:

• acting as custodian of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), managing and giving direction to the harmonisation process
• developing the system (revisions)
• promoting understanding and implementation of the system.

Read more on UN ECOSOC Sub-Committee of Experts on the GHS