Our commitment to people and the environment
Background
The chemical industry shares the same goal as all EU citizens; to live in a world where the risks of using chemicals are minimised to protect the environment and people’s health and any impact on future generations is reduced to the lowest level possible. The European Commission’s ‘zero pollution ambition for a toxic free environment in Europe – building a Healthier Planet for Healthier People’ is, together with Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, one of priority actions of the EU Green Deal towards a clean healthy ecosystem and environment.
A positive trajectory paved by collaborative initiatives and innovative solutions
According to European Environmental Agency (EEA), since 1990 the EU 27 chemical industry has shown a decline of 53% of Greenhouse Gas emissions, while Nitrogen emissions have decreased by 47% over the past 10 years. We are determined to do so much more and already have a number of initiatives going beyond regulatory compliance. For instance, the long-standing Responsible Care programme brings together industry towards safe chemicals management while driving continuous improvement of operations. Thanks to REACH, Europe has the most advanced chemicals legislation in the world; and industry is committed to build on its strong foundations. Another important industry initiative is the REACH Dossier Improvement Action Plan, signed by 190+ chemical companies, to help review and update data in previously submitted REACH registration dossiers.
The continued development of our industry’s innovative solutions is vital to further reduce emissions while improving operations; examples like industrial symbiosis, using artificial intelligence for cognitive and connected plants and process control aimed at production sites to continuously run at maximum efficiency, to name just a few.
Read more about our industry’s solutions here.
The road ahead
Our industry is continuously improving its processes to continue cutting GHG emissions further, and we know that more needs to be done. We stand ready to work with NGOs, EU institutions and Member State governments to further improve existing legislation and deploy innovative solutions that will further reduce pollution and improve resource efficiency.
Our industry wants to make the European Green Deal a reality, while contributing to the highest protection of people and the environment. We are anticipating a deep industrial transformation, estimated between 17-27 billion euros a year, depending on the level of ambition. With an unprecedented volume of regulatory changes underway, we call for greater policy coherence and enforcement of the existing policy framework, to enable Europe’s chemicals industry to continue investing in Green Deal solutions.