Chemical management will enter the spotlight

Abstract

A key sustainability goal for industry, governments, and environmentalists in 2020 is expanding efforts to improve the management of commercial chemicals. They plan to build on a United Nations deal called the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). The aim of SAICM, which was adopted in 2006 and expires this year, is to ensure that chemicals are manufactured and used in ways that minimize significant adverse impacts on human health and the environment. To keep global efforts moving in this area, industry, governments, and environmental and health groups will convene in October for the fifth International Conference on Chemicals Management. Their goal is to extend and expand SAICM through 2030. This meeting is “the top advocacy priority for the chemical industry,” says Michael P. Walls on behalf of the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA). Walls is vice president of regulatory and technical affairs at the American Chemistry Council,