On May 22, 2017 the non-profit organization Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF) and the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) published a position paper entitled “Beyond 2020: Sustainable chemistry – NGO recommendations.” The paper was presented at the Conference on Mainstreaming Sustainable Chemistry and launch of the International Sustainable Chemistry Collaborative Centre (ISC3) that took place on May 17-18, 2017 in Berlin, Germany. The recommendations outlined in the paper are endorsed by several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as ChemSec, CHEM Trust, and the Health and Environmental Alliance. The organizations recommend the following:
1) Establishing “a more precise definition of sustainable chemistry . . . to clarify the relationship between hazard reduction and other desirable social or environmental outcomes.” Green chemistry principles should be included to ensure that “hazard reduction is fully incorporated into the sustainable chemistry concept.”
2) Prioritizing hazardous chemicals for phase-out and employing the process of alternatives assessment to achieve informed substitutions.
3) Internalizing societal, health, and environmental costs into the costs of production and the price of chemical products according to the “polluter pays” principle. This would address the issue of toxic legacy chemicals and drive the development of less hazardous products and processes.
4) Demanding full disclosure of chemical ingredients for consumers and users along the entire supply chain, ensuring their “right to know.” Chemical transparency “can empower downstream producers, retailers, consumers and waste handlers to drive market demand for less hazardous products and processes.”
Read more
WECF (May 22, 2017). “Beyond 2020: Sustainable chemistry.”
Reference
IPEN & WECF (May 2017). “Beyond 2020: Sustainable chemistry – NGO recommendations.”
