Circa Group’s Post

In Europe we need to continue to do more to reduce the risk posed by chemicals to both human health and the health of our environment. This is the message coming from an assessment published today jointly by our team here in the European Environment Agency and our colleagues in the European Chemicals Agency, as part of the work underpinning the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. While recognising that chemicals are essential to our society, we also need to move towards a situation where chemicals are designed, produced, and used in a safe and, very importantly, a sustainable way. The assessment finds that ongoing regulation of chemicals has resulted in better management of chemicals risk, but we are still in a situation where use of the most harmful substances is still increasing in the EU. These most harmful chemicals which are those which are carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic to reproduction. The assessment clearly shows that chemicals are present at levels which present a potential risk in both our environment (e.g. water, soil) and in human bodies (as demonstrated by the recent EEA briefing on bisphenol A in human - https://lnkd.in/eycRykk9 ). The presence of harmful chemicals in products is also presenting a barrier to a more circular economy as materials are more problematic to recycle into safe products. The assessment is called the 'EU Indicator Framework for Chemicals' and is composed of i) a web-based indicator dashboard which presents trends and knowledge on a range of chemical indicators and ii) an accompanying synthesis report which brings together the information from the dashboard to identify the overall key messages and knowledge gaps. The online dashboard of chemical indicators which underpins this assessment is available here: https://lnkd.in/eq6rcrvN . The synthesis report can also be access from the same website. From the EEA perspective, thanks to everyone in my team and the wider Agency who contributed to the assessment, and in particular Jeanne Vuaille who was leading the project for EEA. The collaboration with our colleagues in ECHA was also excellent and we look forward to future projects!

The European Environment Agency and ECHA recently published a report on transitioning towards safer and more sustainable chemicals. Click on the link below for more information and to read the report. https://lnkd.in/g7EP4T4T #regulation #regulatoryconsultancy #saferchemicals

🌍 I recently read an article from UN News about the adoption of a Global Framework on Chemicals at the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5). This framework is a significant step toward reducing environmental risks by phasing out harmful chemicals and promoting safer alternatives. Governments committed to reaching targets by 2030, with industries pledging to minimize pollution impacts. The article emphasizes the urgent need for action, as highlighted by UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen, who pointed out that chemical pollution is responsible for millions of deaths each year. 🟢 Strengths: The article does an excellent job of outlining the framework's goals and linking them to other global challenges like climate change and health. It also provides a clear call to action for policymakers and industries to exceed the targets set. 🔴 Weaknesses: While the framework is promising, the article could have explored in more detail how these targets will be implemented and monitored globally, as well as how industries plan to adhere to the guidelines. This piece provides valuable insight into international efforts to combat chemical pollution, but further discussion on practical enforcement would strengthen its impact. You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/d7iGyU3S

Today the EU indicator framework for chemicals was published! ✨ The outcome of a collaboration between European Commission services and EU agencies. This includes an online dashboard of indicators on the drivers and impacts of chemical pollution and a joint European Environment Agency - European Chemicals Agency report - both accessible from here: https://lnkd.in/eAjDte2e Based on these indicators and other insights on chemicals use, production, emissions, occurrence and risks we show that:   - The transition towards safer and more sustainable chemicals is progressing in some areas while in others it is just getting started. It must continue and should even be accelerated. - There is a need to more effectively ensure that consumer products do not contain the most harmful substances, for example chemicals that are endocrine disrupting, that negatively affect the hormone system, or substances that are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic, which present a risk for years to come even after their use has ceased.

The transition towards safer and more sustainable #chemicals is progressing in some areas, whereas in others, it is just beginning. This is one of the conclusions of the first European-wide assessment of the drivers and impact of chemical pollution that we have published together with the European Chemicals Agency 👇 Check the report and the dashboard for more insights and indicators on chemical pollution: https://lnkd.in/g7EP4T4T #ChemicalSafetyEU #ChemicalsStrategy

Just published 📣 The European Environment Agency joint efforts with European Chemicals Agency for a Europe-wide assessment of the drivers & impact of #chemical #pollution ☢️🍃 The joint report is a synthesis of indicators necessary safer and more sustainable chemicals in 🇪🇺

First joint report from the European Environment Agency and the European Chemicals Agency is now out! Benchmarking progress towards safe chemicals in Europe - more work is still needed to reduce the impact of harmful substances on human health and the environment. Congratulations to the EEA-ECHA team, in particular my EEA colleague Jeanne Vuaille who led from our side. Key findings - Transition towards safer and more sustainable chemicals is progressing in some areas while in others it is just getting started. - Action by authorities and industry has supported minimising and controlling the risks from several groups of hazardous chemicals. - Little evidence of progress towards eliminating substances of concern from waste and secondary materials. This is a barrier to the transition towards a more circular economy. - Emissions of certain chemicals to water and air have fallen following specific EU regulations and international actions. - Further measures are needed to reach concentration levels that are not harmful for human health and the environment. - Emissions from industry still lead to major costs in terms of damages to human and ecosystem health. - Human biomonitoring offers the opportunity to understand human health risks associated with chemical pollution. - Key tool to measure the effectiveness of chemicals legislation in protecting human health and the environment. 

Excellent insight from David Hart

Da #EuropeanEnvironmentAgency The EU has increased the scrutiny of industrial #chemicals, uncovering the persistent use of harmful substances like #carcinogens and #hormone #disruptors, continue to linger in our products and environment, threatening both human well-being and the ecosystems we rely on. While progress has been made in regulating emissions and minimising risks, the need to #accelerate the #transition to safer, #sustainable #alternatives has never been more urgent.

The transition towards safer and more sustainable #chemicals is progressing in some areas, whereas in others, it is just beginning. This is one of the conclusions of the 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧-𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 that we have published together with the European Environment Agency. 👇🏼Check the report and the dashboard for more insights and indicators on chemical pollution. #ChemicalSafetyEU | #ChemicalsStrategy