Product Policy Archives

Chemicals Regulation Top-of-Mind at APEC Senior Officials Meeting

Published on August 12, 2014
LR: Hitoshi Nanimoto (Japan), Dusanka Sabic (Australia), Andy Liu (DuPont), Erica Logan (ITIC), Sophia Danenburg (Boeing)
LR: Hitoshi Nanimoto (Japan), Dusanka Sabic (Australia), Andy Liu (DuPont), Erica Logan (ITIC), Sophia Danenburg (Boeing)

The chemicals trade cuts across multiple industries and contributes to the production of thousands of different products, from pharmaceuticals to computer microchips. Central to the modern economy, chemicals and products they are used in are traded widely across borders. And because they add value to so many different consumer goods, chemicals are a staple economic building block for the member countries of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

The regulation of chemicals trade was top-of-mind during this year’s third APEC Senior Officials Meeting (SOM III) hosted in China, where government regulators met with industry representatives and other stakeholders to discuss opportunities and challenges in the chemicals industry.

Helen Medina, USCIB’s senior director of product policy and innovation, attended SOM III along with a number of member company executives. The meetings took place under the auspices of the APEC Chemical Dialogue, a forum for regulatory officials and industry representatives seeking to advance regulatory dialogue on chemicals trade and achieve environmental protection while minimizing costs to business.

During an industry “pre-meeting,” private-sector representative from the APEC region met to discuss business priorities on chemicals regulation. Of concern to industry included ongoing issues related to EU REACH, such matters related to polymers and the criteria for identifying endocrine disruptors. The APEC region is also increasingly a concern for industry given all the changes in the chemical management systems in China, Korea and Chinese Taipei. Industry is concerned about Confidential Business Information (CBI), and is keen on protecting trade secrets. Business supports striking the right balance between health safety and the protection of intellectual property rights, and to that end industry is backing the implementation of the 2008 Best Practice Principles on chemicals regulation in the APEC economies.

USCIB also convened an industry meeting with officials from the U.S. State Department and USTR. The meeting provided an opportunity for business to show that a wide range of industry sectors are involved in the APEC Chemical Dialogue – companies represented at the meeting included DuPont, American Petroleum Institute, Boeing, the Information Technology Industry Council, the American Chemistry Council, the Nickel Institute and others. The meeting also gave industry a chance to discuss priority issues such as regulatory cooperation and CBI. Industry also noted that chemical regulations shouldn’t disrupt the availability of certain irreplaceable chemicals needed for specialized industries.

Joint Meeting of APEC Regulators’ Forum and OECD New Chemicals Clearing House

USCIB’s Medina also participated in the joint meeting of the APEC Regulators’ Forum with the OECD Clearing House on New Chemicals, which brings together officials from the U.S., Canada and Australia and industry representatives to craft ways to reduce the costs on business associated with new chemical notification reviews while ensuring a high quality of health and safety decisions for new chemicals.

APEC economies provided updates on their chemical management systems, with OECD countries sharing best practices to help developing countries build up their chemical management systems. For example, New Zealand developed a toolbox to help small businesses deal with hazardous substances, and the United States spoke about Environmentally Preferable Purchasing, a program that allows the federal government to buy green products, stimulating market demand for environmentally friendly products and services. The OECD also presented its work on a toolbox that supports the evaluation of alternatives when safer chemical substitutes are sought.

The Regulators’ Forum gives business the opportunity to obtain an overview of the chemical management systems in the APEC economies and how planned changes could impact business. It also gives industry a chance to interact with regulators, as well as learn about what chemicals programs advanced economies are promoting.

Serving as a place where governments can share information about new chemicals going to market, the Clearing House is beneficial to business because companies don’t have to regenerate information about new chemicals. Instead, companies go to one place – the OECD Clearing House – for chemicals evaluation, and then put those chemicals on the market in different countries.

The Clearing House is actively working to include more participants from non-OECD countries in its activities. Since many APEC economies are in the process of updating or creating new chemical management systems, APEC regulators have much to gain from discussions with the OECD Clearing House.

“Our hope is that both APEC economies and industry see the value of the OECD Clearing House on New Chemicals,” Medina said.

Workshop Advances Best Practices on Chemicals Regulation

On Tuesday USCIB’s Medina attended the APEC Chemical Dialogue Regulatory Cooperation Workshop. The purpose of the workshop is to advance the implementation of the 2008 Principles for Best Practice Chemical Regulation and to contribute to APEC’s ongoing efforts to promote regulatory cooperation. USCIB members featured prominently on the agenda and were able to communicate their specific perspectives on why regulatory cooperation is important.

Andy Liu of DuPont gave one industry’s view on the importance of having risk based decision making practices. “We believe risk-based assessments and oversight of chemicals most effectively protect the public and the environment,” said Liu. “Proportionality of oversight and efficient use of available resources by screening, prioritizing, and only generating data that are necessary for decision-making can help stakeholders to minimize risk of chemicals and allow investment in innovations necessary for a brighter future.”

Liu also highlighted the importance of protecting confidential business information so that companies can continue to innovate and bring sustainable solutions to society. While implementing the Globally Harmonized hazards classification and labeling systems in a more consistent manner would lessen the costs to the business.

Participants also heard from Erica Logan, ITIC whose main message was that the electronics industry is leveraging an internationally recognized International Electrotechnical Commission standard to manage relevant Chemicals in Products information throughout the supply chain. “We encourage governments to recognize the value of such standardized approaches for managing chemical information and risk,” said Logan.

Sophia Danenberg of Boeing gave another downstream users perspective. She noted that chemical management systems do impact the aerospace industry and that regulators should consider how chemical regulations impact the availability of high specialized chemicals for use in the aerospace industry.

On a related note, Don Wilke, P&G, talked about principles for substance evaluation and the benefits for having a regulatory framework that allows or encourages the use of analogues and other surrogate data in chemical assessments. Use of analogues reduces animal use, costs and can provide for higher tier information sooner.

“The appropriate use of chemical analogues and read-across information can significantly reduce the unnecessary use of animals in safety testing as well as reduce the costs and the time required for testing,” said Wilke. “This is in line with the Chemical Dialogue Best Practice Principles of efficiency, flexibility and science-based decision making.”

More information about the workshop and its conclusions are forthcoming.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

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Medina Briefs Consumer Products Companies on Global Product Policy

Published on May 7, 2014

Helen Medina, USCIB’s senior director for product policy and innovation, addressed the Consumer Specialty Products Association’s International Committee’s mid-year meeting, May 6 in Chicago, providing CSPA members with an update on international product policy issues. CSPA, which represents hundreds of companies that manufacture, formulate, distribute and sell a wide range of consumer products, is a member of USCIB.

Medina presented an overview of USCIB’s product policy priorities, which include a science-based approach to chemicals life-cycles management and bringing downstream users’ perspectives to policy-making decisions. She also discussed three important international forums for USCIB Product Policy Working Group:

  • work in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) process
  • the UN’s Strategic Approach to International Chemicals’ Management (SAICM) process, and
  • the work of the UN Environment Program.

In addition, USCIB has been working to provide input on Korea’s new chemical regulation, referred by many observers as “Korea REACH” due to the legislation’s similarities to the European Union’s REACH (registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals) rules.

Medina’s main takeaway points were that these inter-governmental discussions of product policy matter for companies of all sizes, that business can and must be involved in the process, and that different industries must work together to present a common private-sector viewpoint and positions.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

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USCIB Warns on Korean Chemicals Regulations

Published on April 21, 2014

Global Business : South KoreaUSCIB recently submitted comments to the Korean environment ministry and the U.S. government on draft decrees implementing new Korean chemicals legislation, known as “Korea REACH” – after similar European Union rules governing registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals.

Reflecting the views of USCIB’s broad-based membership, which includes chemical manufacturers and downstream users, the comments voiced broad support for Korea’s goal of protecting human health and the environment. But they voiced concern that “Korea’s new chemical management system may impact or disrupt the supply of highly specialized chemicals particularly in sophisticated, high-tech industries.”

In the comments, Helen Medina, USCIB’s senior director for product policy and innovation, wrote that an overly burdensome chemical management system “could have a significant impact on the ability of USCIB members to manufacture innovative products in Korea and/or import them into the country.”

Specific recommendations, including the need for consultation with non-Korean stakeholders, are detailed in USCIB’s comments. Other industry groups that submitted views include the American Chemistry Council and the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates.

USCIB has been actively engaged in several international chemicals negotiations, including the UN’s Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management as well as discussions in the UN Environment Program, the OECD and APEC.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

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USCIB Takes Part in APEC Chemicals Meetings

Published on February 25, 2014
Sarah Green, senior science advisor with the State Department, and USCIB’s Helen Medina (right) at the APEC Chemicals Dialogue steering group meeting in Ningbo, China.
Sarah Green, senior science advisor with the State Department, and USCIB’s Helen Medina (right) at the APEC Chemicals Dialogue steering group meeting in Ningbo, China.

Earlier this month, Helen Medina, USCIB’s senior director for product policy and innovation, took part in the APEC Chemical Dialogue Steering Group and related meetings in Ningbo, China. The sessions were held in concert with the first APEC senior officials meeting of China’s host year.

The goal of the steering group meetings was to prepare for the upcoming APEC Chemical Dialogue meeting in August, which will take place in the northern Chinese city of Harbin.

The Chemical Dialogue is an important forum in which APEC officials and industry representatives come together for public-private dialogue on chemical issues in the Asia-Pacific region. It affords industry representatives an opportunity to work with regulators and trade officials from the APEC economies on a variety of project-based issues.

Prior to the steering group sessions, there was an industry meeting in which industry participants gathered to discuss their priorities going forward and to formulate industry-wide positions, which were then discussed with their government counterparts. During the discussion about the types of outcomes industry is seeking, Medina made an intervention about the importance of having the downstream user’s perspective in the work.

Medina also suggested that, in order to promote the common goal of regulatory coherence throughout the economies participating, it would be useful to identify the projects that each of these initiatives is undertaking that relates to the regulation of chemicals, and to describe the work that is being done.

The major themes of the steering group meeting dealt with regulatory cooperation and concrete projects. One item of particular importance to USCIB members is how confidential business information is being treated in APEC economies. USCIB has taken a lead by developing a survey to address this question.

Medina presented the objectives and importance of the survey. She reminded participants that no other international governmental organization, such as APEC, is discussing this topic and that the chemical dialogue has the opportunity to produce a work project to better understand how APEC economies are sharing information.

Once information has been gathered from the survey, the goal would be to foster a discussion on how the Chemical Dialogue can work to converge on how economies protect confidential business information, and what type of information is considered confidential. The analysis of the results will be reported in Harbin later this year.

Other items discussed included a proposal for a workshop on regulatory cooperation at the Harbin meeting, which won wide support. The goal is to highlight issues to consider when implementing best practices for chemical management. USCIB will volunteer to be on the steering committee which will develop the workshop.

Another item, which comes under the theme of sustainability, was related to a Cooperative Activity in the Asia-Pacific on Marine Debris. The idea is to a establish a work stream to promote regional awareness and adoption of strategies to effectively manage and extract value from municipal solid waste, and to energize collaborative approaches to reducing plastic marine debris, including efforts to reduce plastic packaging through innovative product. This work could also contribute to broader APEC work on ocean issues.

Finally, Medina updated APEC members on the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) UN Environment Program-led project on Chemicals in Products. She highlighted industry’s concerns with the project and urged Chemical Dialogue members to get in touch with SAICM representatives that are involved. Given the importance of the project, participants agreed that it is imperative to keep this item on the agenda for the Chemical Dialogue in Harbin.

At the end of the meeting, Ryan Macfarlane, the State Department’s principal APEC coordinator, was formally introduced as chair of the Chemical Dialogue, succeeding Barbara Norton of USTR, who has retired.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

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USCIB Briefs Senior Executives on Global Product Policy

Published on October 23, 2013

Helen Medina, USCIB’s senior director for product policy and innovation, was the keynote speaker at a recent meeting of senior product stewardship executives organized by the Conference Board, at the headquarters of PPG Industries in Pittsburgh.

Medina addressed emerging global discussions that will impact product stewardship, highlighting our work on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Environment Program’s work on chemicals in products, and OECD discussions of green economy topics.

USCIB is a leader in monitoring and influencing international discussions of chemicals and product policy issues, complementing business advocacy efforts in specific countries.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

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The Private Sectors Contributions to Improved Nutrition

Published on September 30, 2013

4608_image001Last week, USCIB submitted comments to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition on the contribution of the private sector and civil society to improve nutrition. This online consultation will feed into the Second International Conference on Nutrition Preparatory Technical Meeting (November 13-15 in Rome).

In the submission, USCIB stressed that advancing health and nutrition requires a multi-stakeholder approach that reflects the complexities of the issues. There is no quick or simple solution to addressing challenges such as obesity, under-nutrition and disease, we said.  While we believe that the private sector has a role in producing healthy and nutritious food, it is equally important to address issues that impact the community’s ability to thrive such as poverty, hunger, gender inequality, water access and sustainable agriculture.

It is within this context that USCIB shared some examples of programs and approaches that reflect this complex reality. The submission highlights several successful private sector initiatives already in place, including programs by Coca-Cola, CropLife, General Mills, McDonalds, Monsanto, Nestle, and PepsiCo.

“USCIB believes that private-sector know-how in the areas of innovation, science and technology, as well as good production and management practices, can be increasingly harnessed through effective partnerships with research institutions, farmers, policy-makers, and civil society,” according to Helen Medina, USCIB’s senior director for product policy and innovation

“Furthermore, the private sector plays a critical role in further strengthening markets, economic growth and livelihoods. While private sector involvement is key, there is also a need for government collaboration, particularly in helping ensure greater policy coherence, such as reducing barriers to trade.”

The Rome meeting will be a high-level ministerial conference which will seek to propose a flexible policy framework to adequately address the major nutrition challenges of the next decades. It will also seek to identify priorities for international cooperation on nutrition in the near and medium-term.

 

Staff contact: Helen Medina

 

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BIAC Nanotechnology Committee to Meet in Washington DC

Published on September 9, 2013

As nanotechnology continues to rapidly develop in a wide range of different sectors, governments, business and international organizations are increasingly focusing on how to stimulate its development while at the same time considering potential environment, health and safety issues.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) advises on emerging policy-relevant issues in science, technology and innovation related to the responsible development and use of nanotechnology, and also addresses the safety of manufactured nanomaterials. It also helps ensure that the approaches for hazard, exposure and risk assessment for manufactured nanomaterials are of a high quality, science-based and internationally harmonized. Since the establishment of the OECD nanotechnology program, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC) has been an active partner, including in the OECD Sponsorship Program for the testing of selected manufactured nanomaterials.

As the OECD work continues to expand, the BIAC Nanotechnology Committee will have its annual Committee meeting in Washington, D.C. on September 19-20. The meeting will include a strategic discussion on challenges and opportunities our members encounter at the national or regional level, next steps with regard to the OECD sponsorship program, the future orientations of work related to science, technology and innovation as well as cross-cutting issues and work in other international organizations.

Speakers at the meeting, which will include a review of the first round of U.S.-EU talks under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, include Rachel Shub, senior director for EU regulatory affairs at the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and Julia Doherty, USTR’s senior director for technical barriers to trade.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

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APEC Officials Compare Notes on Regulation of Chemicals

Published on June 25, 2013

At this week’s third APEC senior officials meeting (SOM III) in Medan, Indonesia, regulators from a wide range of APEC economies met with industry representatives and other stakeholders to discuss emerging issues in the regulation of chemicals. Helen Medina, USCIB’s senior director of product policy and innovation, attended along with a number of member company executives. The forum took place under the auspices of the APEC Chemical Dialogue, a forum for regulatory officials and industry representatives to find solutions to challenges facing the chemical industry and users of chemicals in the Asia-Pacific region.

The APEC Regulators Forum began with a discussion of what is happening with the OECD Clearing House on New Chemicals (CHNC) which brings together representatives of interested governments (U.S., Canada, Australia) and the chemical industry, working cooperatively to reduce overall burdens associated with new chemical notification reviews, while maintaining the high quality of health and safety decisions for new chemicals.

Participants in the APEC regulators forum. At center is Ana Corado of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, acting chair of the forum. USCIB’s Helen Medina is immediately to the left of Ms. Corado.
Participants in the APEC regulators forum. At center is Ana Corado of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, acting chair of the forum. USCIB’s Helen Medina is immediately to the left of Ms. Corado.

The CHNC works to streamline the new chemicals notification processes by sharing the work on new chemical notifications and assessments, so that that there is a mutual recognition of assessments and a mutual acceptance of notifications. It is actively working to include more participants from non-OECD countries in its activities. Since many APEC economies are in the process of updating or creating new chemical management systems, participants at the regulators forum agreed that having joint meetings with the OECD CHNC would help APEC regulators.

“The OECD New Chemicals Clearing House has real value for both economies and industry,” said Marianne Heinrich (BP). “We hope that having the joint meeting with the APEC regulators forum will increase the participation of APEC economies, so that participation in the Clearing House can create even more benefits for all stakeholders.”

Other items that emerged from the meeting include:

  • A proposal for a scientific workshop on metals risk assessment within the framework of the APEC Regulators’ Forum which was introduced by the Australian government. This was supported by Japan, Australia, Chile, Philippines, Chinese Taipei, Russia and China, and approved by the APEC Chemical Dialogue, which took place later in the week.
  • Vietnam has requested APEC funding for technical assistance to develop an industrial chemical inventory, which would be recognized internationally and allow the trade of chemicals between Vietnam and other APEC economies. It was agreed that the proposal needs to be further developed, keeping in mind ways that such a project could also help other economies.

Economies represented included Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, the United States and Vietnam. USCIB members present included BP, the American Petroleum Institute, Dupont, the American Chemistry Council, Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates, the Nickel Institute and the Toy Industry Association.

In addition, during a breakout session, USCIB members met with EPA officials to discuss possible future projects for the APEC Regulators Forum to undertake. USCIB suggested the following:

  • The Regulators Forum could provide information about training tools to help SMEs implement the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals.
  • APEC could translate new regulatory documents that emerge from APEC economies into English.
  • Improve the APEC Chemicals Dialogue website so that it is easier for participants to search for and access documents.

The chair of the meeting (from the United States) thought these ideas could be valuable as future projects but they would need to be formally introduced either in the Regulators Forum or at the APEC Chemical Dialogue Steering Group.

Survey on confidential business information

At the APEC Chemical Dialogue itself, USCIB’s Medina unveiled the APEC Economies Survey on Confidential Business Information (CBI), which seeks to determine what type of information is protected in various APEC economies.

“This survey is important to business because industry needs a better understanding of what is protected,” she said. “If confidential business information must be disclosed, industry needs to know how the APEC Economy is sharing the information, and with whom.”

Once information has been gathered from the survey, we hope to foster a discussion on how the APEC Chemical Dialogue can work on harmonizing how economies protect CBI, and what type of information is considered CBI.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

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Taiwan Adopts New Chemicals Legislation

Taiwan, Province of China, has passed new legislation that moves it toward a European Union-style chemicals management system. Some highlights of the new law include:

  • A ban on manufacturer or import prior to submitting hazard and labor risk assessment reports and obtaining the approval  for registration of new chemicals (those not listed in a government inventory)
  • Required disclosure of hazard and risk assessment of the registered new chemical substance for the purpose of protecting workplace safety and health
  • Required submission of relevant operation data of priority management chemical substances designated by the Taiwan government
  • Required government permit for operating with or exposure to designated controlled chemical substances, including those that are potentially carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction, and endocrine disruptors

USCIB has advocated a risk-based approach to chemicals management, and has sought to curtail requirements for the disclosure of confidential business information, including trade secrets and other intellectual property, as a precondition for approval to use new chemicals substances. We will continue to monitor the development of chemicals regulation in a number of key markets.

APEC’s “Indonesia Year” Gets Underway at Chemical Dialogue

Published on February 11, 2013

4439_image002USCIB continues to maintain a high profile in the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) forum, which groups the United States and 20 other economies in the Asia-Pacific region. This is especially true in areas where we bring high functional expertise, such as customs, privacy and chemicals. The latter issue was among those addressed at this year’s first APEC senior officials meeting (SOM I) in Jakarta at the end of January and the beginning of February. (Indonesia has taken over from last year’s host, Russia; China is slated to serve as APEC host next year.)

Several USCIB members joined Helen Medina, director of life sciences and product policy, at the APEC Chemical Dialogue’s steering group meeting during SOM I. The Chemical Dialogue’s overall goals are to facilitate trade in the region through expanded cooperation and mutual recognition among chemical regulators, to enhance understanding of the chemical industry’s innovative role, and to encourage chemical product stewardship, safe use and sustainability.

This year, the Chemical Dialogue will continue to promote the implementation of the UN’s Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals – a set of guidelines aimed at simplifying regulations and labeling requirements, as well as improving safety and environmental protection – by APEC member economies. Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) and Australia are lending support to the effort by assembling a clearinghouse on labeling initiatives and case studies on how APEC economies are implementing the UN system.

Chemicals Dialogue members are also evaluating the implementation of the EU’s REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) initiative, which regulates use of chemicals throughout a product’s life cycle, and which has had a large impact on companies up and down the supply chain. USCIB’s Medina made the case that regional initiatives like REACH need to take account of the global impact such rules can have, given today’s highly integrated global production networks.

The treatment of confidential business information is an important issue in chemicals regulation and product policy. While regulators must collect product information in order to carry out their programs, companies also need to protect trade secrets. USCIB is leading an effort to survey APEC member economies on their treatment of confidential business information. “Companies must be committed to designing and selling products safe for the users and environment in all markets, and have the confidence that intellectual property will be protected,” commented Beth Hulse, global regulatory manager at GE.

A number of additional programs are underway in the APEC Chemical Dialogue to promote regulatory cooperation and analyze the potential hazards of specific products and substances. USCIB members came away impressed with the discussion in Jakarta. “The sessions provided in-depth insight into cooperation between economies to forge a fair regulatory framework that promotes trade and environmental awareness,” said Poh Cheng Oh, compliance program manager with Hewlett-Packard.

APEC’s 2nd senior officials meeting takes place April 6-19 in Surabaya, Indonesia and include a meeting of trade ministers. The next round of APEC Chemical Dialogue meetings will take place June 22-24, during SOM III, in Meden, Indonesia. The APEC Leaders Meeting takes place October 5-7 in Bali. You can read a 2-page backgrounder on USCIB’s activities and priorities for APEC in 2013 by clicking here.

 

Staff contact: Helen Medina and Justine Badimon

USCIB APEC 2013 Backgrounder

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Nairobi Conference Maps Out Future UN Work on Chemicals

Published on October 1, 2012

africaAgainst the backdrop of growing international attention to the use of chemicals throughout the production and consumption chain, Helen Medina, USCIB’s director of life sciences and product policy, attended the Third International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM3), September 17-21 in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference was held under the auspices of the UN Environment Program (UNEP).

An overarching issue at the conference was financing and technical resources for implementing the goals of the UN’s Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). SAICM is a voluntary policy framework, implemented in a multi-stakeholder process, with the aim of ensuring that, by the year 2020, chemicals are produced and used in ways that minimize significant adverse impacts on the environment and human health.

“Since SAICM’s activities are increasingly dealing with products, downstream users and manufacturers need to be more fully included in the SAICM dialogue,” noted Medina. “This means that we need more participation from manufacturers, and that the SAICM process should take their views into account and reflect this in the outcomes.”

One of SAICM’s main objectives is that information and knowledge about chemicals contained in products “is available, accessible, user friendly, adequate and appropriate to the needs of all stakeholders.” As a step towards fulfilling this objective, UNEP has led a Chemicals in Product (CiP) project.

During ICCM3, it was decided that the CiP project would move forward to develop a proposal for an international voluntary program to facilitate and provide guidance on how relevant information on chemicals in products along the supply chain and throughout their life cycle can be shared with stakeholders. USCIB intervened during the negotiations to ensure that the proposed voluntary program would not target product categories within the scope of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of chemicals, and that only relevant information is sought from companies. USCIB also stressed that as the project develops it is important to recognize the existing information exchange systems which have already been developed and it underscored the importance of protecting confidential business information.

Other discussion items of interests to USCIB members included decisions on emerging issues such as endocrine disrupting chemicals, hazardous substances in electrical and electronic products, and additions to SAICM’s Global Plan of Action.

The issue of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) as a new work stream for SAICM was contentious. Derek Swick (American Petroleum Institute), representing USCIB, actively participated in the negotiations to emphasize the need for continued scientific knowledge on EDCs, and to underline that it was premature to include any work items to examine potential EDCs.  USCIB’s advocacy successfully limited new endocrine work under SAICM solely to known endocrine disruptors and not to “potential” endocrine disruptors.

The issue of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic products continued to be of high interest to delegates, with African nations in particular voicing concern that, as production of electronics continues to increase, managing the waste and recovery of those products is crucial. Negotiators agreed that SAICM would develop an international set of best-practice resources, including in product design, to minimize the use of hazardous substances.

Another topic of interest to USCIB members was how SAICM’s Global Plan of Action might be expanded to address hazardous substances within the lifecycle of electrical and electronic products, as well as nanotechnologies and manufactured nanomaterials. Mike Irwin (Procter & Gamble) followed these negotiations on behalf of USCIB.

Currently, the GPA is list of activities is a menu of non-negotiated items, which countries may choose to undertake in implementing SAICM objectives. USCIB’s main concern was that list of activities discussed in Nairobi would be included in the GPA in a manner that would elevate the importance of the activities.  After much debate, the additional activities to the GPA continue to remain as list of optional actions which countries can carry out as they continue to implement SAICM.

Sophia Danenberg (Boeing) was also invited to participate in a high-level dialogue of representatives from government, industry and civil society to discuss strengthening SAICM’s implementation. She reiterated that, with SAICM’s activities increasingly dealing with products, downstream users and manufacturers need to be more fully included in the SAICM dialogue.

Staff contact: Helen Medina

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