96 percent of European manufactured goods rely on chemicals, and the chemical industry is at the heart of almost every supply chain. Chemicals are indispensable for achieving green agreements and economic recovery. The chemical industry is a truly innovative industry, which provides the solutions needed. However, with the recent and upcoming legislative changes, how will the chemical industry be fair in this task?

Sylvie Lemoine talked about the challenges of the chemical industry at the global business summit on chemical Watch

Sylvie Lemoine, executive director of product management of Cefic, represented Cefic at the webinar of the global business summit on chemical watch. Sylway's speech focused on the challenges faced by the chemical industry in designing sustainable product strategies. The main challenges facing? "Let it work together", while "investing in the right technology, considering climate neutrality, considering future sustainable product initiatives, considering new chemical strategies for sustainable development, and action plans for zero pollution need to be more cyclical and take advantage of the opportunities brought by the European industrial strategy and post epidemic recovery plan." In addition, Sylvie stressed that Europe, as the world's largest exporter of chemicals, must remain competitive.

How does the chemical industry go to a sustainable development strategy?

More than 10 years of discussions have come together, with nearly 60 changes to the legislation on chemicals. Sylvie Lemoine pointed out: "it will be very soon. It will be massive and we will face more than 60 legislative changes. " However, as Sylvie pointed out, "we have the same objectives as the Commission in terms of health, environmental protection and innovation promotion" and welcome the holistic approach to combining the different elements needed. However, Sylvie points out that we still question the balance between actions, which is to focus on strong regulation and the innovation needed. Sylway stressed that while some legislative reforms have been launched, the innovation pillars are "vague" and have little clarity about priorities and how they will get funding. Read more about sustainable development chemistry strategies.

How will innovation bring investment and will Europe remain competitive?

"If we want to remain competitive, we need motivation and predictability," hilvey said. Policymakers need to believe that this chemical strategy is a growth strategy. " Silvi also noted that we need to "narrow the gap" in law enforcement and point out that "we cannot improve European standards, but we leave a hole in the border so that non-compliance products will hitchhike."

New hazard categories under basic use, risk management, CLP

In further challenges, Sylvie highlighted some important issues, including the necessary uses ("what is necessary or not?"), risk management ("what is the impact of departing from the general risk management approach?") and the new risk level of the UN GHS under the China power plan ("we will face two systems that are in violation of Europe's commitment to comply with the United Nations GHS." )

Sustainability design

"If you do well, it will be a great opportunity to design new chemicals in the future," sylway said, and it is also a "leader in innovation trends.". In fact, Cefic supports expanding the scope of eco design directives to improve resource efficiency and recycling, but warns against double regulation. Instead, this needs to be consistent with reach limits and / or specific product legislation.