Why industry beyond the chemicals sector must take greater note of the international chemicals agenda 

When attending international meetings addressing chemicals and waste, the absence of industry bodies becomes quickly apparent. Aside from the chemicals sector, it is unlikely you will see representatives from other stages of the value chain, particularly those downstream who use chemicals in their products.  

Nevertheless, such perspectives are essential if we are to meet any of the objectives that have been proposed for addressing issues related to the international production and use of chemicals. Understanding industry’s operations – how they source chemicals, their production processes, supply chain connections, involvement in sector initiatives, are all needed to gain a full picture of the ‘chemical universe’.

Industry’s absence has not gone unnoticed and international organisations, such as Unep, which oversees the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (Saicm) voluntary framework, have tried to increase awareness and encourage engagement. 

These attempts have won some recognition from specific industry stakeholders, but they have not captured the attention of broader industry – and without collective action, a global vision for chemicals and waste will be difficult to achieve. 

Opportunity in 2023 

However, this year presents an opportunity to reach the wider value chains and stress to companies that, like climate change, chemicals issues need broad collective consideration at the global level.  

In September, a major new framework to manage chemicals and waste globally will be adopted. The Beyond 2020 framework will supersede Saicm, with most stakeholders from authorities, NGOs, academia and industry agreeing that it failed to meet its goal of having the sound management of chemicals and waste in place worldwide by 2020. 

International organisations, national authorities, NGOs and representatives of the scientific community that have been involved in the negotiations for the new framework also agree that a new global instrument must set ambitious objectives and targets that result in swift action on the most pressing issues associated with chemicals and waste. 

These negotiations highlight the need for stronger regulation, capacity building in developing countries and collaboration among authorities and other organisations. But talks are also considering industry’s current engagement and its potential ability to take stronger action. 

Workshops 

Two workshops organised by the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC), a group of international organisations including Unep, the OECD and the WHO, have progressed ideas aimed at driving more industry engagement and action. 

The most recent, in January, convened more than 180 stakeholders from around the world to discuss opportunities and challenges to accelerate and scale-up efforts in industrial sectors and values chains.  

Stakeholders at the workshop in Paris included representatives from government, civil society, international organisations, academia and several industrial sectors including construction, chemical distributors, chemical industry, electronics, finance, health care, textiles, retailers and waste management.  

As such, it brought together many who were new to the Saicm process, including those working within and alongside industry.  

It was agreed that "further efforts are needed by all stakeholders to enlarge the community". 

Discussions highlighted an extract from the draft text of the negotiations – known as the Intersessional Process (IP) to the post-2020 global chemicals and waste framework. This stresses: "The involvement of industry and the private sector throughout the value chain needs to be significantly enhanced under this instrument at all levels." It adds that the roles and responsibilities of industry and the private sector should be clearly identified and developed.  

The motivation of stakeholders at the workshop to drive more industry action was clear. Its proposals to set industry-related targets under a new international framework under the auspices of the UN will be presented by the IOMC at the upcoming meeting of the Intersessional Process in Nairobi, Kenya, next week and to the fifth International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5) in September (see box). These recommend, for example, the adoption of specific timelines for industry to: 

• implement sustainable chemical and waste management strategies; 
• ensure that reliable information on chemicals in materials and articles is available throughout their lifecycle; and  
• set minimum requirements for third-party/private/non-governmental standards, labels and certification schemes. 

Several other proposed targets will also indirectly impact companies, such as that: 

• by 2030, all countries will have prohibited the export of substances that they have prohibited nationally; 
• by [XX], measures that have been identified to prevent or minimise harm from chemicals throughout their lifecycle are implemented by companies; 
• by 20XX, educational, training and public awareness programmes on chemical safety, sustainability, safer alternatives and the benefit of chemicals will have been developed and implemented; and  
• by 20XX, all governments will have legally implemented and enforced the UN’s Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of classification and labelling of chemicals in all relevant sectors. 

While such targets are likely to be voluntary in nature, they could set the tone for how governments develop their regulatory frameworks on the production and use of chemicals in the years to come, particularly those considering, or in the process of, setting up or updating regulatory regimes.  

With enough awareness of these targets, and if there is motivation to achieve them, sectors up and down the value chain could also be encouraged to conduct their activities based on them, much like what has happened with the global climate and biodiversity agreements, and the sustainable development goals (SDGs).  

Industry action on chemicals has been largely influenced by regulatory, NGO and consumer pressure and this has resulted in some major multinational brands and companies setting and regularly updating their policies. This activity has been significant in recent years. However, international programmes to address chemicals have yet to truly influence industry in the same way.  

To become more influential in motivating industry action, the potential impact of a global chemicals framework on corporate operations and bottom lines must be effectively communicated.  

Saicm

Although not legally binding, Saicm’s aim has been to "build international cooperation and influence national policy through deliberation and consensus between governments, industry, non-governmental organisations and civil society".  

While a 2015 evaluation of Saicm acknowledged that some progress has been achieved in these areas, overall, there has been a lack of political will compared to other issues such as climate and biodiversity. This in turn has resulted in a lack of funding and resources, and little engagement from those outside the immediate chemicals stakeholder community.  

According to several company sources, the voluntary nature, and the sometimes-unclear correlation between Saicm’s vision and on-the-ground activity to manage chemicals, has meant there has been little motivation to engage in the process. The priority has been to ensure national and regional regulatory compliance – a major time and resource consuming activity, particularly with the increasing number of countries adopting new, or updating existing, legislation. International voluntary ambitions for chemicals have so far sat further down the corporate agenda.  

Momentum 

Nonetheless, momentum to address the human health and environmental issues associated with chemicals and waste is gaining pace. This is partly driven by regulation and consumer awareness/pressure, but more recently by the global will spurred on by Unep’s strategy to address pollution. Alongside climate change and biodiversity loss, pollution is the third environmental crisis the organisation says we must address.  

For example, one of the UN’s proposed Beyond 2020 targets calls on "all stakeholders to identify and strengthen synergies and linkages between chemicals and other environmental, health and societal priorities, such as climate change, biodiversity, human rights, universal health coverage and primary health care". 

With chemicals slowly nudging their way into these conversations, as well as being a major consideration in the pollution discussion, businesses across all sectors will need to increase efforts to understand and act on their chemical footprint.  

Without this knowledge, the associated risks of poor chemicals management could become apparent while the operational benefits and market opportunities are missed. As global awareness grows, and countries become more active in this space, both risks and opportunities will become amplified. 

This year’s anticipated adoption of a new, potentially more ambitious global chemicals and waste framework could drive a much more concerted effort to effectively regulate and manage chemicals and waste around the world.  

Proactive chemicals management is and will be a necessity for all companies along the value chain. The issue is climbing the agenda of all stakeholders, with ambitions to bring it in line with other pressing global challenges. 

Those unaware of the shifting tide on chemicals management could be left behind, struggling to find their place in an evolving market. While those taking a proactive approach and who are engaging at all levels, from internal product departments all the way up to the international platforms, will find themselves better placed to operate in an uncertain economic/market environment. 

Following the workshop in Paris, the IOMC will work with the Saicm secretariat to organise a technical briefing on the outcomes of the workshop in advance of the fifth meeting of the IP (IP4.2) in Nairobi on 27 February–2 March. Workshop participants have been invited to consider the current industry-related targets, as well as propose specific text for consideration at IP4.2. 

ICCM5, where the beyond 2020 framework will be agreed, will be held in Bonn, Germany on 25–29 September.  

Keeping track of what form these targets take and whether they make it into the final text will be an important step for companies looking to see how industry will be called on to contribute towards a global vision to address chemicals and waste issues globally.