How the Sustainable Products Initiative should address hazardous chemicals in products – ECOS position paper
Chemicals have a great impact on global value chains and the environment and should be taken into serious consideration when it comes to sustainability. In a new paper, ECOS calls for mandatory requirements for traceability and safe use of chemicals at all stages of the product lifecycle.
The Sustainable Products Initiative (SPI) is a flagship initiative of the European Commission’s new Circular Economy Action Plan. It is meant to make sustainable products the norm and foster more durable, reusable, repairable, recyclable, and energy-efficient products. This ambition, however, cannot be realised without detoxifying materials and products.
EU decision makers need to ensure that the SPI rises to the occasion and implements the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability by:
- Implementing a generic approach to risk considerations for chemicals in all products and materials
- Closing the gap between current EU chemicals legislation and product legislation by introducing a horizontal and sector-specific requirements to remove substances of concern from all products
This means that the SPI proposal needs to:
- Instill toxic-free design as an overarching principle for sustainable products and materials
- Ensure that comprehensive information about chemicals in products and materials is provided to targeted stakeholders to ensure transparency and traceability
Develop new requirements focusing on the use and presence of chemicals, taking into account wider societal concerns, for example when production takes place outside of the EU
Access the full ECOS paper here.
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