Environment Archives

Multinationals Applaud US Effort to Secure Global Participation on Climate

Published on December 4, 2009

In letter to president, USCIB urges ambitious agreement, support for innovation

President Obama with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh: Participation by countries like India is crucial for a global climate agreement to succeed. (White House Photo)
President Obama with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh: Participation by countries like India is crucial for a global climate agreement to succeed. (White House Photo)

New York, N.Y., December 4, 2009 – As nations prepare to gather in Copenhagen for crucial global climate talks, a leading U.S. industry group said the Obama administration’s leadership has put an ambitious and workable agreement within reach.

In a letter to President Obama, the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), which represents America’s top global companies, said it believes the administration’s leadership over the past year “has made a difference.“

USCIB’s president and CEO, Peter M. Robinson, wrote: “The innovative and collaborative approaches of the United States have been instrumental in progress made” since the 2007 climate conference in Bali, which set the stage for the final push toward a post-2012 global framework on climate change.

Mr. Robinson wrote that U.S. leadership had moved the UN climate talks forward in areas that are central to U.S. business objectives.  These include obtaining an inclusive global agreement with action by all major emitting nations, support for intellectual property rights to speed the development of new technologies, and “robust and ambitious national strategies” to address global warming.

The statement came as business representatives from around the world prepare to converge on the Copenhagen talks.  USCIB’s global affiliate, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), is once again coordinating business and industry representation.  Mr. Robinson will lead a delegation of USCIB members attending the conference.

ICC yesterday released the results of a survey indicating upbeat business expectations for a future, greener global economy.  Depending on their region, between 60 and 78 percent of industry experts surveyed around the world agreed that the transition to a low carbon economy would bring new opportunities to businesses in addition to cost reductions.

In its letter to President Obama, USCIB identified financing as a critical element in the negotiations.  “From a business perspective, the available funding mechanisms relevant to climate change have been slow, narrow in scope and difficult to access,” the letter stated.  USCIB said it had offered concrete suggestions to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on how public funding options could be shaped to increase their effectiveness, and to create synergies with private finance.

“In many cases, the most effective use of public finance will be to leverage and enable action by the private sector,” stated Ann Condon, director of environmental health and safety with General Electric and chair of USCIB’s Environment Committee.  “It should also seek to lower some of the risks associated with business activities and investments, particularly in developing countries or in connection with new technologies.”

The pro-trade group also said that post-Copenhagen negotiations “should engage business as much as possible, and far more than in the past.”  USCIB said it hopes to see the creation of more effective ways for UN negotiators to benefit from American business expertise “through opportunities to collaboratively define mitigation and adaptation to climate change, and effective policies to promote them.”

USCIB promotes international engagement and prudent regulation in support of open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility.  Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of the economy, and with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including ICC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment.  More information is available at www.uscib.org.

Contact:

Jonathan Huneke, VP Communications, USCIB
+1 212.703.5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

 

USCIB letter to President Obama

More on the ICC survey

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

 

 

Copenhagen Climate Summit Latest statements and information

Published on December 1, 2009

Latest statements and information from USCIB and our global business network

USCIB and its global business network have actively contributed to international discussions of climate change for many years.  Our unique affiliations with leading worldwide business groups – in particular the International Chamber of Commerce – provide an invaluable channel through which to influence the course of global policies and regulations affecting business, the environment, energy and sustainable development.

At the December 2009 UN climate change summit in Copenhagen, USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson joined members and ICC-affiliated companies from around the world in making the business case for concerted action to combat global warming.

Here are links to the latest statements and actions on climate change from USCIB and our global network. Please contact USCIB Vice President Norine Kennedy (nkennedy@uscib.org) for additional information or to get involved.

USCIB:

International Chamber of Commerce:

Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD:

International Organization of Employers:

On to Copenhagen: Major Business Groups Set Priorities for Climate Action

Published on September 28, 2009
While building owners in Copenhagen find many ways to “go green,” governments face major challenges in crafting a global climate pact.
While building owners in Copenhagen find many ways to “go green,” governments face major challenges in crafting a global climate pact.

As the world enters the final stretch leading up to December’s UN Copenhagen summit meeting on climate change, representatives of major business groups from around the world met in Washington on September 21 and 22 to frame recommendations on long-term climate action and the role of business in curbing greenhouse gases.  Representatives of ten top leading business groups from six continents took part – including BusinessEurope, the Japan’s Nikkei Keidanren, the Confederation of Indian Industry, USCIB and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which hosted the event.

Following on an earlier February roundtable in Copenhagen, where business groups from diverse countries reached a degree of consensus that surprised even themselves, representatives exchanged views on the shape of a new international agreement on climate change, agreed on a number of shared fundamental objectives and sought to contribute to ongoing negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Major Economies Forum (MEF) on energy and climate.

The business groups emphasized the critical role of open trade to both economic recovery and dissemination of environmentally advanced technology.  The group also stressed the importance of economic development and competitiveness, financing, energy security and energy efficiency.  These will be conveyed to the MEF and developed further in future meetings.

According to Brian Flannery (ExxonMobil), co-chair of USCIB’s international energy policy working group, it is likely that, as the result of the Copenhagen summit, business will be charged with making major contributions to economic and technological capacity-building.  For that reason, a clearer and more formal role for business in the UNFCCC process is needed.  “The realities of the global marketplace and supply-chains will require economy-wide, multi-sectoral and inter-disciplinary evaluation of proposed policies,” he said.

Between now and the Copenhagen summit, governments are struggling to reach consensus on post-2012 commitments to greenhouse gas reductions, adaptation to the likely impact of climate change, and necessary technological and financing measures.   Some progress was made at the recent UN high-level meetings and a global leadership forum held in New York around the opening of the UN General Assembly (see USCIB statement).

USCIB, working with the International Chamber of Commerce as the main business and industry focal-point for the UNFCCC negotiations, has represented its members’ interests in the process since 1993, and attended the UN leadership forum in New York.

According to Norine Kennedy, USCIB’s vice president for environment and energy, the UN meeting in Copenhagen “should be viewed not as a finish line, but as a starting point,” the beginning of what she said will likely be a “long discussion about the details of post-2012 action.” USCIB will be covering the remaining negotiations in Bangkok and Barcelona, as well as in Copenhagen.

MEF business statement on climate

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

Business Makes an Impact at Commission on Sustainable Development

Published on May 27, 2009
(Photo: United Nations)
(Photo: United Nations)

On May 15, the 17th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) concluded two years of negotiations on how to drive forward implementation of Rio and Johannesburg summit commitments in six major development areas – agriculture, land, water, rural development, drought, and Africa.  The two-week summit, which included a high-level session, agreed a set of priorities to expedite the implementation of sustainability measures in the cluster of land and agriculture issues.

USCIB and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) served as the primary business representatives at the CSD, working with the International Agrifood Network, Croplife International and the International Fertilizer Association.  The CSD recognizes nine “major groups,” or important sectors of society, which are expected to contribute their experiences in implementing Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, and in identifying future areas for partnership and strengthened implementation.  ICC represents the “business and industry” major group, and has official status in the CSD’s activities.

Business engagement in the CSD session – which was attended by representatives of over 60 governments and numerous non-governmental organizations – emphasized the stake and contribution of a broad range of industries that are concerned in the food value and supply chain, as well as in other promising areas, such as biotechnology, energy and sustainable chemistry.  Business representatives underscored the importance of flexibility to reflect national circumstances, integrated policies that reflect risk assessment and management, sound science and economics.

“We were able to draw attention to the need for a strengthened focus on capacity-building and information-based approaches,” said Helen Medina, USCIB’s director of agriculture, health care and biotechnology.  “One critical element of that is to ensure that intellectual property rights are protected and strengthened.  This year’s CSD deliberations made good progress in providing momentum to international cooperation to address the food crisis, and to advance emerging technologies in other agricultural areas, such as bio-energy and biotechnology.”

The draft text included references to trade, technology, climate change, biodiversity, and the right to food.  Throughout the week, USCIB and ICC met with several with government officials and intergovernmental authorities to stress the importance of advancing measures to accelerate economic recovery and address trade, IPR and biodiversity in their primary forums, such as the World Trade Organization, the World International Property Organization and UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

A copy of the full CSD conclusions text, the ICC discussion Paper on CSD-17 and all Business and Industry interventions can be found on ICC’s website at www.iccwbo.org/policy/environment/id1465/index.html.

Staff contacts: Helen Medina and Norine Kennedy

More on the International Chamber of Commerce

More on USCIB’s Food and Agriculture Working Group

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

UN Commission on Sustainable Development website

G8 Business Federation Heads Unite on Need to Avoid Credit Crunch

Published on April 24, 2009

Meeting in Sardinia, they also call for open trade and a concerted effort on climate

Sardinia was host to this year’s G8 Business Summit.
Sardinia was host to this year’s G8 Business Summit.

Santa Margherita di Pula, Italy, April 24, 2009 – Business leaders from the G8 nations gathered in Sardinia yesterday and today to address urgent global economic issues.  Their conclusions and recommendations are contained in a joint declaration that will be presented to the G8 heads of state in preparation for July’s G8 Summit in Abruzzo, Italy.

The G8 Business Summit, hosted by Confindustria, the Italian Confederation of Industry, focused on three pressing issues: responses to the financial and economic crisis, free trade and investment, and the need to tackle climate change.

The United States was represented by William G.  Parrett, chairman of the United States Council for International Business, Harold W.  McGraw III, CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies and chairman of the Business Roundtable, and Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S.  Chamber of Commerce.

The business summit is the fourth multilateral meeting to be organized by the main business associations representing the private sector in the countries that make up the G8.  The first G8 Business Summit was held in Berlin in 2007, followed by Tokyo in 2008 and an extraordinary Summit dedicated to the financial crisis, held in December 2008 in Paris.

The main conclusions of the 2009 summit, contained in detail in the G8 Business Summit joint declaration, are:

Response to the financial and economic crisis: Business Leaders addressed the need to find short- and medium- to long-term solutions to address recovery of the real economy by stimulating economic growth, employment, global trade and investment.  The greatest and most urgent efforts must be directed at avoiding and mitigating the impact of a broader credit crunch.  It is crucial to restore companies’ access to finance at reasonable prices.  The need to durably reinforce financial stability requires proper financial market reforms ensuring a suitable balance between better regulation and risk prevention.

Free trade and investment: Business Leaders called for open trade and sound investment policies, which are vital in strengthening economic growth, job creation and industry competitiveness, and are especially important to small and medium companies, severely affected by the credit and liquidity crunch and by increasing limitations on market access worldwide.  The economic situation requires G8 governments to strengthen and publicly renew their full commitment to an open global economy.  The successful conclusion of the Doha Round in 2009 lies at the heart of all possible strategies as it is the most effective way to establish a level playing field at the global level and its positive conclusion would weaken the drifts towards protectionism and isolationism in the global economy.  The delivery of an ambitious and balanced WTO agreement would be a concrete symbol of effective international cooperation and the strongest possible stimulus for the recovery of the global economy and for the growth of developing and less developed economies.  G8 Business also calls for the conclusion of the negotiations for the accession of Russia to the WTO before completion of the Doha Round.

Tackling climate change: the road to Copenhagen.  Business Leaders called for a concerted global effort based on long-term cooperative action as the only way to succeed in tackling the issue of climate change.  The forthcoming Copenhagen UNFCCC conference is a great opportunity to reach a global agreement based on clear, equitable and firm worldwide commitments to emission reduction.  Business accepts its share of the responsibility and has already made major changes in operations including introducing new processes, products and services to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and will continue to tackle climate change.  However, business calls for the full burden of emissions reduction to be shared among all emitters.  Tackling climate change can unleash numerous business opportunities, provided that innovation and technological development are properly encouraged.  To effectively achieve emissions reduction targets, business needs to remain competitive.  Clear, predictable and stable frameworks are essential for long-term planning and investments at national, regional and international levels.  At the same time, policies must be balanced to avoid diverting resources away from innovation and encouraging protectionist barriers to trade.

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and prudent regulation.  Its members include top U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world.  With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment.  More information is available at www.uscib.org.

Contact:
Jonathan Huneke, VP Communications, USCIB
Tel: +1 212.703.5043 (office) or +1 917.420.0039 (mobile)
E-mail: jhuneke@uscib.org

G8 business leaders declaration 

G8 Summit official website

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Committee

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

From the President: An Energy Agenda for the Next Administration

Published on August 1, 2008

The path to cleaner, affordable energy is through international cooperation

By Peter M. Robinson

Peter M. Robinson
Peter M. Robinson

The next administration will face a number of important international challenges requiring prudent and effective action.  Near the top on anyone’s list is energy and climate change.

Energy is the lifeblood of the global economy.  American business is a vital player in the production and transport of energy all over the world, and of course our society consumes more energy than any other nation.  We have made tremendous strides in developing cleaner technologies and energy sources, while improved efficiency has boosted our competitiveness as well as environmental protection.  Nevertheless, as a trip to the gas station will attest, energy costs are a challenge for everyone, including global companies.  Indeed, some say we may need to adapt to an era of permanently higher energy prices.

However, energy can never be seen as just a “business” issue.  Indeed, it is a fundamental prerequisite for social and economic development across a broad range of areas.  Pick almost any of the Millennium Development Goals – progress toward which is a key goal of this year’s UN General Assembly session – and you will find an energy-related component.  Clean water, health care, poverty eradication: how can any of these be effectively addressed without greater access to energy?

Of course, much of the debate over energy has focused on climate change.  What is the best path to a lower-carbon future?  And how can we best use our energy resources to mitigate and adapt to the effects of global climate change, while still ensuring we meet the needs of a growing world?  Global solutions are called for, and our next president will need to take the lead in crafting international rules to tackle both the energy and climate challenges.

For USCIB members and other global firms, the way forward is clear: the only way to provide dependable, affordable and cleaner energy is through international action and cooperation to deploy and upgrade energy systems worldwide.

We have worked hard to advance understanding of these issues at the highest levels, in global talks under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, where countries are seeking to forge agreement on broader and more inclusive post-2012 actions as the Kyoto Protocol reaches the end of its first round commitments, and in the G8 as well (see page 9).  We have leveraged our unique affiliations with the International Chamber of Commerce and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD to advance a coordinated and integrated approach to climate and energy around the world.

There can be no doubt that American companies are up to the challenge.  The next administration must therefore frame a vision of U.S. leadership on energy and climate that places a high priority on our proven technological know-how and the business community’s ability to commercialize and disseminate the fruits of innovation.  This vision should be optimistic, driven by an understanding of the power of markets and international trade to deliver results.

A new vision on energy and climate should encompass four essential goals:

  • Broaden the energy mix. Diversifying energy portfolios is a proven strategy to manage tradeoffs and uncertainty in the near and long term.  We should not foreclose any energy options in international discussions.
  • Foster innovation. The transfer of new and cleaner energy technology to emerging markets such as China and India will be critical.  But to make this happen, private-sector innovation needs to be fostered, and intellectual property rights protected.
  • Embrace markets. The International Energy Agency puts the bill for meeting global energy needs over the next two decades at $20 trillion.  The lion’s share must come from the private sector.  To do this, we need open markets, protection for investments and trade liberalization.
  • Regulate wisely. We need long-term international policies, often called “enabling frameworks,” that are consistent and predictable, encouraging investment, securing property rights and promoting public-private partnerships for energy innovation.

The next administration must work closely with other nations, not just in established settings such as the UN, but in new arrangements that enable countries best placed to move forward to do so with a minimum of impediments.  It is a time for creative leadership, not dogma.

American business is ready to build our energy competitiveness in the global marketplace, to grow our economy and to move decisively towards a sustainable energy future.  We hope the next president is up to that same challenge.

For more information or to get involved, please contact USCIB’s Norine Kennedy  (212-703-5052, nkennedy@uscib.org).

Mr. Robinson’s bio and contact information

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee 

Other recent postings from Mr. Robinson:

Employers’ Vision of the ILO (Summer 2008)

New Financial Challenges on the Horizon (Spring 2008)

Trade Can Save the Climate (Winter 2007-2008)

From E-Commerce to the “Internet Economy” (Autumn 2007)

A Green Light for “Green” Tariffs?

Published on January 25, 2008

New study scrutinizes how international trade rules may impact limits on carbon emissions

3771_image001New York, N.Y., January 25, 2008 – Are efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions under agreements like the Kyoto Protocol compatible with World Trade Organization rules?  As Congress and many European policy makers weigh the imposition of “green” border taxes to punish more carbon-intensive products from abroad, a new report by a leading industry group raises troubling questions about WTO rules and jurisprudence  and their possible application to climate policy.

The study by the United States Council for International Business (USCIB) looks specifically at the issue of whether countries might decide the U.S. has an unfair trade advantage as the result of its decision not to adhere to the Kyoto Protocol.  It is an update of a 2002 paper issued soon after the Bush administration announced its intention not to sign  the Kyoto agreement.

“When we published our original paper six years ago, the issue was largely speculative,” said Timothy E. Deal, USCIB’s senior vice president and the author of the study.  “Back then it was mainly NGOs like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth Europe that were pushing for a climate border tax as a way to punish the U.S. and other non-Kyoto signatories.  Now we have politicians on both sides of the Atlantic talking more openly about some form of carbon tax regime.”

Two separate bills currently before the U.S. Senate would combine a national cap-and-trade system for reducing carbon emissions with fees or taxes on imports from countries that do not adequately limit such emissions.  Meanwhile, the European Commission has floated the same idea in proposing a new European emissions regime.  Last October, French President Nicolas Sarkozy publicly urged the EU to “examine the option of taxing products from countries that do not respect the Kyoto Protocol.”

The USCIB study looks at pre-existing GATT/WTO jurisprudence on trade and environment, as well as key WTO rulings such as the 1998 Shrimp-Turtle decision.  According to Mr. Deal, that landmark ruling may have opened the door for the use of trade measures to promote environmental objectives based on the way a product is made.

“This issue could cause an absolute train wreck to the multilateral trading system,” said Mr. Deal.    “Clarification of the relationship between multilateral environment agreements and international trade rules, as called for in the WTO’s Doha Development Agenda, may be necessary to avert such a clash.”

Founded in 1945, USCIB promotes an open system of global commerce in which business can flourish and contribute to economic growth, human welfare and protection of the environment.  Its membership encompasses over 300 leading U.S. companies, professional services firms and associations whose combined annual revenues exceed $3.5 trillion.  As American affiliate of several leading global business groups, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide and works to facilitate international trade.

Contact:

Jonathan Huneke, VP Communications, USCIB

+1 212-703-5043 (office), +1 917-420-0039 (mobile) or jhuneke@uscib.org

USCIB study: “WTO Rules and Procedures and Their Implication for the Kyoto Protocol”

“Trade Can Save the Climate” (column by USCIB President Peter M. Robinson, Winter 2007-2008)

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

More on USCIB’s Trade and Investment Policy Committee

WTO website

In Davos, USCIB Chairman Unveils Clean Water Initiative

Published on January 26, 2007
USCIB Chairman William J. Parrett of Deloitte (right) with Kurt Soderlund of the Safe Water Network.
USCIB Chairman William J. Parrett of Deloitte (right) with Kurt Soderlund of the Safe Water Network.

At this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, USCIB Chairman William J. Parrett, chief executive officer of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, announced a joint project between his firm and the Safe Water Network to develop small-scale, community-based solutions to bring safe water to neglected populations.

The 12-month program will target several countries and regions – potentially including Bangladesh, China, India, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America – where distributed water purification technology solutions are expected to improve community access to clean drinking water.

Mr. Parrett and Kurt Soderlund, the Safe Water Network’s chief operating officer, said the objectives of the program for the next 12 months include:

  • Empowering local communities to improve their living conditions through the deployment of distributed water purification technology
  • Demonstrating alternative models to deploy water purification solutions, including micro-enterprise programs that establish local water entrepreneurs, and social investment programs such as supplying water purification to local health clinics
  • Developing plans that support broad scale deployment of solutions to materially improve the health and living conditions for the millions afflicted by water-borne illnesses.

“Many communities face severe water shortages that hinder their development,” Mr. Parrett said.  “Deloitte member firms are proud to work with the Safe Water Network to help bring what we see as practical solutions to local communities.  The Deloitte network of member firms, including approximately 135,000 people in nearly 140 countries, can bring knowledge and expertise to define local needs, and help deliver technology and other solutions to deliver clean water.”

Nearly 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water, and 90 percent of deaths from water-related diseases in the developing world today occur in children under five years of age.  “In different ways, at different ages, access to adequate water and sanitation services influences everybody’s health, education, life expectancy, well-being and social development,” noted Mr. Parrett.  “Water is fundamental to human life, community development, and long-term sustainability.”

More on USCIB’s Health Care Working Group

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

Deloitte website

Terry A. Cullum of General Motors to Lead USCIB Work on Environment

Published on October 13, 2006
GM’s Terry A. Cullum.
GM’s Terry A. Cullum.

New York, N.Y., October 13, 2006 – The United States Council for International Business (USCIB), a leading pro-trade group, announced today that Terry A. Cullum, director for corporate responsibility and environment & energy with General Motors Public Policy Center, has been named the chair of USCIB’s Environment Committee.

“We are delighted that Terry Cullum has agreed to lead USCIB’s dynamic environmental affairs activities,” said USCIB President Peter M. Robinson. “Working with a team of dedicated members and staff professionals, we look forward to continuing to help business play a major role in international environmental policy discussions.”

USCIB’s Environment Committee promotes appropriate environmental protection within an open trade and investment system, and advances environmental protection and economic development as fundamental to sustainable development. As chair of the USCIB committee, Mr. Cullum succeeds George Carpenter, director for global sustainable development with Procter & Gamble, who retired at the end of September.

“We are very grateful to George Carpenter, who has helped define the whole idea of corporate sustainability, for his outstanding work on behalf of U.S. business in promoting greater awareness of environmental matters and of the many efforts by companies to improve environmental performance,” said Mr. Robinson.

Mr. Cullum began his career in General Motors’ Cadillac division as a project engineer. He held positions dealing with selection of materials, validation testing, and specification development before joining the corporate environmental staff in 1994. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan. Mr. Cullum is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and serves on a number of academic advisory boards.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader for 75 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 327,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries.

USCIB promotes an open system of global commerce in which business can flourish and contribute to economic growth, human welfare and protection of the environment. Its membership includes some 300 U.S. companies, professional service firms and associations whose combined annual revenues exceed $3 trillion. As American affiliate of the leading international business and employers organizations, including ICC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide and works to facilitate international trade.

Contact:
Noreen Kennedy, Vice President, Environmental Affairs, USCIB
(212) 703-5052 or nkennedy@uscib.org

More on USCIB’s Environment Committee

ICC website

GM website

U.S. Business Urges Revision of European Chemicals Guidelines

Published on September 13, 2006
Proposed EU chemicals legislation could impact downstream users as well as importers.
Proposed EU chemicals legislation could impact downstream users as well as importers.

New York, N.Y., September 13, 2006 – The United States Council for International Business, which represents America’s top global companies, has voiced concern to European Union authorities over proposed implementation guidelines for EU legislation, known as REACH, to regulate over 30,000 chemicals and products made from them.

REACH, which stands for “registration, evaluation, and authorization of chemicals,” is slated to undergo its second reading in the European parliament this fall. As currently drafted, the proposed legislation would affect downstream users and importers as well as chemical manufacturers.

USCIB submitted comments on a draft REACH implementation project or (known as RIP 3.8) that sets out guidance for manufacturers in the implementation of the draft chemicals legislation. It said its comments aimed to help contribute to the workability of rules laying out the obligations under REACH for industries that use chemicals in the manufacture of their products.

“The workability and proportionality of REACH has been raised as a top priority by both the European Commission and Council,” said Andrea Fava, USCIB’s manager of environmental affairs. “However, we are concerned that these guidelines are neither workable nor proportionate.”

USCIB recommended the revision of the proposed guidelines, saying its members are concerned about the workability of the draft from both the compliance and enforcement perspectives. USCIB has also expressed concern that the guidelines go beyond the scope of the draft chemicals legislation.

“We urge that further input be considered and that the guidance for articles be revised to ensure it is consistent with the intent of the draft REACH legislation,” said the USCIB statement.

In 2003 and 2004, USCIB submitted comments to the European Commission on the economic and environmental impact of the REACH proposal. Since then the EU has undertaken an extensive revision of the proposed legislation and is now pushing to finalize REACH in the near future.

USCIB promotes an open system of global commerce in which business can flourish and contribute to economic growth, human welfare and protection of the environment. Its membership includes some 300 leading U.S. companies, professional services firms and associations whose combined annual revenues exceed $3 trillion. As American affiliate of the leading international business and employers organizations, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide and works to facilitate international trade.

Contact:
Helen Medina
(212) 703-5047 or hmedina@uscib.org

USCIB comments on on REACH Implementation Project 3.8

More on USCIB’s Environmental Committee