TABLE OF CONTENTS
>> INTRODUCTION
>> REPORTS AND STATEMENTS
>> QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS
>> WORKSHOPS
>> CONCLUSIONS
Background / Introduction
At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, about 170 nations agreed that the protection of the environment and social and economic development are fundamental to sustainable development. To achieve such sustainable development they adopted the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and the Agenda 21, which is the global programme for the 21st century. In chapter 19 the Agenda 21 also provides targets for the environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals, including prevention of illegal international traffic in toxic and dangerous products. The full implementation of Agenda 21 was strongly reaffirmed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg, South Africa from 26 August to 4 September 2002. The participants decided to minimise the significant negative impact from chemicals by 2020. The declaration of WSSD also deemed it necessary for sustainable development to establish sound management of chemicals over their whole life cycle. Since then, several international forums have discussed sustainable chemistry. It was in this context and within the framework of the German Presidency of the European Council in 2007 that this workshop, “Sustainable Chemistry – Implementation of a Scientific Concept in Policy and Economy”, took place.
Programme
The concept of sustainable chemistry represents an area of innovation, which preserves resources and stands for a development process in the chemical industry. It aspires to raise the proportion of less dangerous chemicals used as well as the production of environmentally high-quality products from preferably renewable resources. This obviates emissions and excessive consumption of resources like energy and materials. Sustainable chemistry also deals with the whole life cycle of intrinsic safe chemicals and products, including their production, processing, use and disposal. The workshop tied in with all areas relating to the arrangement and ascertainment of sustainable chemical production. Starting from this, the boundary conditions and future action towards promoting the application of sustainable chemistry were discussed among experts. The conference also provided the opportunity to agree on how to apply this concept to policy on chemicals, methods of production, processing and product policy – especially with regard to provisions relating to environmental aspects, as well as safety at work and consumer protection. It aimed at an exchange of experiences to do with procedures and actions. Furthermore, it provided a basis for discussions on how integrated and interdisciplinary implementation options can be weighed and elaborated.
Participants
About 100 experts attended the workshop. They came from Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Ghana, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania, the United Kingdom and the USA. They were representatives of ministries and administrations, the EU-Commission, the OECD, companies, research organisations and NGOs.
Opening
by Rainer Arndt, Ministry for the Environment,
Nature Conversation and Nuclear Safety, Germany
In his introduction, Rainer Arndt drafts some crucial aspects which ought to be considered whilst working towards a sustainable chemistry concept.
“Sustainable chemicals in the product chain”
by
Klaus Günter Steinhäuser, Federal Environment Agency, Germany
The presentation describes the contribution of REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) to sustainable chemistry. It also shows decisive criteria of sustainable chemistry and the importance of information and communication in the product chain.
Summary
Presentation
Biography
“Sustainable Development – not without Chemistry”
by
Wolfram Koch, German Chemical Society, Germany
The presentation by Wolfram Koch illustrates that chemistry is a key technology and a decisive contributor to sustainability.
Summary
Presentation
Biography
“Chemical Leasing – Selling services instead of barrels”
by
Thomas Jakl, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and
Water Management, Austria
Thomas Jakl reports on experiences with chemical leasing in Austria. He also presents several pilot projects in Egypt, Mexico and Russia and speaks about the relationship between chemical leasing and REACH.
Summary
Presentation
Biography
“Green Chemistry: Locating in the Concept”
by Ken Geiser,
University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA
This presentation gives a definition of green and sustainable chemistry. It also describes approaches, problems and challenges and shows how industry resistance might be overcome.
Summary
Presentation
Biography
“Clean reagents, green catalysis and new reaction conditions”
by
Pietro Tundo, University of Venice, Italy
In his presentation, Pietro Tundo outlines that green chemistry is not only a real option but a need. He describes where chemistry is at present and where it needs to go.
Summary
Presentation
Biography
“Chemicals with Low Persistence and Spatial Range – A
Contribution to Sus-tainable Chemistry”
by Martin Scheringer, Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology, Switzerland
Martin Scheringer reports on the concept of “short-range chemicals”,
which is not just a contribution to sustainable chemistry but also to
environmental justice.
Summary
Presentation
Biography
“Application-Proof Chemical Agents for a New Quality of
Work”
by
Rolf Packroff, Federal Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Germany
In his presentation Rolf Packroff analyses, how risk reduction strategies from occupational safety and health can be used to develop and to promote safe chemical products, which are problem-free for workers and consumers.
Summary
Presentation
Biography
“Innovating for a Better Future – Putting Sustainable
Chemistry into Action”
by Rüdiger Iden, BASF, Germany
This presentation deals with the crucial question of the role which sustainability plays for innovation. It also describes the challenges for the European chemical industry and presents the Smart Energy Home as an example for innovation.
Summary
Presentation
Biography
“Innovative approaches to screening for human health hazards”
by
Ursula Gundert-Remy, Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Germany
Ursula Gundert-Remy presents the achievements in medical research relating to sustainable chemistry from a scientist's perspective. She examines the impact on consumers and health and offers a general concept for the selection of sustainable chemicals.
Summary
Presentation
Biography
“Technology Forum”
by Claudia Brasse, Degussa, Germany
This presentation describes the practice of innovating for sustainable routes to industrial chemicals. It reports on approaches to innovation as well as on actual experiences.
Summary
Presentation
Biography
“Proceedings of OECD-activities”
by Henrik Harjula, OECD,
France
In his presentation, Henrik Harjula elucidates the OECD milestones concerning the implementation of sustainable chemistry policy and economy.
Summary
Presentation
Biography
The following questions / issues were discussed:
1. Concept of green / sustainable chemistry
• Do we not restrict ourselves by concentrating on inherent safety? We also need to think about waste and use.
• The evolution of petrochemistry over the last 100 years has shown that it has become more and more green. So if you give chemists a long time, you will get green chemistry.
• Chemicals in the air are not sufficiently considered in REACH. Here is a need for a vision.
• Sustainable chemistry means to reduce the environmental impacts. But sustainability has two further pillars: economic and social impacts. Shouldn’t we also look at them? / If you look at everything, it becomes too complex. Therefore you should examine things step by step.
• Sustainable chemistry must be more than a business model; it must be an overall concept.
• It is a good idea to link some activities like labelling, safety data sheets and risk assessment together in order to achieve product safety management. Then we have an interesting effect from REACH.
2. Role of data
• No data, no hazard.
• A lot of data has been collected, but never used for risk assessment.
• The government has to make use of the existing data. If nobody checks things, companies will not face disadvantages if they fail to carry out risk assessments.
• For industry it is more practical if limit values are expressed in terms of control figures for the workplaces.
3. Renewable chemicals
• Is there a realistic chance that chemicals made of renewable feedstock can overtake the market?
• Do we need quantitative targets in the EU for renewable feedstock? Do such targets make sense? Are they realistic?
• There are also problems with an increasing renewable feedstock: If the demand increases it will effect food production.
• Not all parts of a plant can be used for food. The rest could be used for renewable feedstock.
4. Chemical leasing
• What are the prospects for pilot projects? All pilot projects are long-term business relations.
• Is there a role for an intermediate broker? The market will decide this question.
5. Role of Industry
• You have shown chemistry to be a problem solver, but if you examine the product context and the life cycle there are still lot of problems, for example the waste-problem. / You are right, but we also need chemistry to resolve the waste problems.
• Sustainable chemistry is a holistic approach. We need to include business people because it is a market issue.
• How can small and medium enterprises be attracted to sustainable chemistry?
• Sustainable chemistry began as an action of the academic world. In those days industry was rarely seen at the meetings. Now this has changed. Industry has started to understand that you can combine sustainable chemistry with earning money.
6. Omics-Techniques
• Should omics-techniques be used for screening? They should be used for the selection of com-pounds. Perform short-time tests before putting compounds on the market. If there are carcino-genic or mutagenic effects, change the compound. This is substitution from the beginning.
7. Communication / networking
• Public organisations like OECD are always a step behind the market. That is a problem.
• Maybe some big companies are a step ahead. But small and medium enterprises (SME) will not act unless required to do so.
• How can we support communication between industry, costumers and OECD? /Industry has full entrance to the meetings of the OECD.
• OECD plans a public platform for sustainable chemistry: How can this platform be interesting to industry?
• On one side of the table we have governments and the academic
world. On the other side of the table we have industry. Both sides talk
about sustainable chemistry in their own circles, but they don’t
necessarily mean the same thing. How can this deficiency be overcome?
Workshops – Short introductions
“Substitution of Hazardous Substances”
This workshop dealt with policy and incentives concerning substitution of hazardous substances in sustainable chemistry. It identified drivers and impediments. It also made clear that the substitution of hazardous substances is a key tool of sustainable chemistry and gave a couple of recommendations to push forward substitution.
Introductory Presentation by Arnim von Gleich
Results of the workshop
Biography
“Networking”
This workshop discussed the following questions: Which framework settings are imperative for the development of sustainable chemistry networks? How can information transfer be stimulated and a network gain public awareness? Does a network need integrated and interdisciplinary implementation criteria to define a frame for sustainable chemistry? How can the review of new developments and elaboration of incentives for sustainable chemistry be collected and distributed by networking? To what extent can a network be a forum to discuss best practices?
Introductory Presentation by Malcolm Wilkinson
Results of the workshop
Biography
“Pulling up talents”
This workshop discussed the following questions: What are the existing instruments of education in sustainable chemistry and are they sufficient? How can the existing instruments be developed to meet further challenges? Can we identify new and innovative methods and applications? What are the pre-requisites to establish sustainable chemistry in schools and universities and what are the incentives for students and teachers? Can we assess the future demand for experts in sustainable chemistry?
Introductory Presentation
by Müfit Bahadir
Introductory Presentation
by Ilka Parchmann
Results of the workshop
Biography (Müfit Bahadir)
Biography (Ilke Parchmann)
Conclusions – Summaries
Summary of the first day
by Henrik Harjula, OECD, France
Henrik Harjula gives the following summary of the first day. Henrik Harjula underlines that he is saying what he has heard during the first day and that other participants might have got different impressions. (The names in parentheses indicate the reports he refers to):
1. Green chemistry principles available for implementation should address
• Production and
• Chemicals and should include
• Products.
(Geiser)
2. What should be done? We should
• Substitute the most dangerous chemicals;
• Increase material and energy efficiency;
• Increase the use of renewables and
• Minimise waste generation.
(Arndt)
3. Definitions are available for
• green chemistry (Geiser)
• And sustainable chemistry (working definition).
Indicators are still needed.
4. REACH is a step towards sustainability, because
• It creates information on hazardous properties and improves information
exchange throughout the supply chain;
• It brings the most hazardous chemicals under control;
• Only safe chemicals can be marketed.
However some problems still remain:
• Quantitative problem: Chemical production increased since 1930 from 1
million t/a to 500 million t/a in 2000;
• Chemicals in imported articles;
• Sustainability is not yet clearly understood nor a practical tool;
• Consumers have not yet really internalised sustainability. Therefore
there is not yet a real consumer choice.
(Steinhäuser)
There are other similar programmes:
• Canadian CEPA chemicals assessment programme;
• OECD/ US HPV-chemicals programme.
5. We need targets for renewables / biochemicals.
• USA wants to increase the share of biomass as the basis for organic chemicals
from 12 percent to 25 percent, but there is no agreement on its feasibility;
• In Germany the renewables share is at present 12 percent.
(Koch, Steinhäuser)
6. Chemical leasing contributes to sustainable chemistry.
The Austrian example shows that chemical leasing
• Can reduce the chemical input by 30 percent,
• Can save costs by 15 percent
• And reduces considerably the input of material and energy.
However chemical leasing does not guarantee the use of sustainable chemicals.
(Jakl)
7. Industry perspective:
• Sustainable development needs innovative chemistry; (Koch)
• We have to take care of competitiveness; drivers for competitiveness
are innovation and sustainability. (Iden)
It is important for the European chemical industry to stay in Europe.
The way to keep industry here:
• High value-added products,
• Eco-efficiency.
8. A way forward:
• There is a real need for sustainable chemistry; (Packroff)
• Cost-benefit Analyses (CBA);
• Networking (IUPAC, OECD, IGN);
• Research and development;
• European wide sustainable chemistry award.
9. Questions:
• To what extent has sustainable chemistry already been implemented?
• If it is not implemented, how can we get it to the ground? How can we
make it practical for industry and society?
Final Conclusions of the Conference
by
Klaus Günter Steinhäuser,
Federal Environment Agency, Germany
Klaus Günter Steinhäuser draws the following final conclusions resulting from the conference:
1. It was the right concept of the conference to bring industry, academia
and authorities together.
2. We learned during the last two days:
• Sustainable chemistry is not only an issue to discuss, it is a need.
• Chemistry must provide solutions for the future.
• It was important that we had different views.
• There is not sufficient dialogue between the different groups. We have
to improve this dialogue.
• We need more economically driven instruments.
3. We will go ahead with these results to the OECD-Workshop in June 2007
on sustainable chemistry.