Advancing sustainable water management
Water covers 70% of the planet, but less than 1% is fresh and accessible for human use. Water is one of the most valuable resources and a key raw material for all operations across the chemical industry. It is used for the heating or cooling of products and equipment, in distillation, but also as part of preparation of solvents and other substances. Alongside being dependent on water availability, our industry also provides innovative products, technologies, and services that support more sustainable water practices in both the chemical sector and related industries.
To ensure waters are well protected at EU level, in 2000 the European Commission adopted its most comprehensive instrument of water policy, the Water Framework Directive. In 2022, the Commission proposed to revise the list of pollutants affecting the surface and groundwater.
Regulatory coherence needed across EU policies on water
The chemical industry considers that the existing measures to protect surface waters from pollution, such as the Water Framework Directive, REACH and Industrial Emissions Directive have proven to be effective. Yet regulatory coherence between the policies is needed. As a next step in securing clean waters, we need to look beyond single directives. Only a holistic view of the legislations, encompassing all the sectors can ensure safe management of EU water resources. We are committed to working with the European Commission, the European Environment Agency and other EU institutions to find industrial synergies and to enhance cross-sectoral water policy.
In response to the proposal to revise the Annexes of the Water Framework Directive and its daughter directives, Cefic calls on policymakers to:
- Revise the lists of pollutants affecting surface and groundwaters based on a risk assessment, new scientific developments, and on a thorough data collection, including consultation of relevant stakeholders.
- Ensure that any list of priority substances includes the substances that are of EU-wide relevance and for which EU-wide risks are identified.
- Ensure that sufficient expertise is available at ECHA and in its Committees to carry out the development or revision of Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) and Watch List. In addition, ensure that the process is transparent and that enough time is allocated to assess the scientific information and for stakeholders to contribute to the process.
Download the Cefic views on Revision of lists of pollutants affecting surface and groundwaters
Conscerning the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) proposal in the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, it should be ensured that any legal framework to implement the ‘polluter pays principle’ is founded upon well-designed, actionable, and enforceable requirements.
Download the Cefic position on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in water policies
Cefic calls on policy makers to address several critical issues :
- Establish a definition of EPR that is tailored to a specific context of water pollution : it should take into account the original concentration, the toxicity index and the fact that pollutants may undergo transformation after prolonged contact with water.
- Develop a targeted list of substances that will fall under the scope of such an EPR scheme. The list should only target substances that stay in water and have an adverse effect at a later stage.
- Set up criteria to identify who is responsible for water pollution.
- Develop a methodology to make sure everyone, from producers to consumers and recyclers, pay a fair share of the cost of pollution. This methodology should take into account all actors of the supply chain, including importers.
- Establish an EU Producer Responsibility Organisation (EU-PRO) to define the mandate and role of the local, national and regional EPR organisations and ensure the supervision and harmonised implementation of the EU methodology. Since most of water pollution crosses the national borders, the collaboration across regional PROs is crucial.