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(Editor’s Note: 3E is expanding news coverage to provide customers with insights into topics that enable a safer, more sustainable world by protecting people, safeguarding products, and helping businesses grow. Deep Dive articles, produced by reporters, feature interviews with subject matter experts and influencers as well as exclusive analysis provided by 3E researchers and consultants.)
Most corporate compliance officers, EHS directors and managers, risk managers and environmental and sustainability managers agree that there is an overwhelming number of regulations that must be tracked and complied with. New regulations come into effect, older regulations are updated, new regulations are proposed with effective dates several years in the future; it never ends.
“The pace of change related to regulations and compliance rules continue to impact companies worldwide at a staggering rate,” said JP O’Sullivan, Chief Operating Officer, 3E. “What makes this even more complex is that we are now seeing both individual countries and locales do more to adopt their own standards - creating an even greater burden on companies as they navigate a global economy and adhere to various levels of standards.”
Customers in virtually every industry and government sector rely on 3E for EHS information and compliance management, including seven of the top 10 global chemical manufacturers, seven of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies, and eight of the top 10 retailers. Our updates for customers are backed by a staff of EHS professionals and scientists and founded on a massive collection of data related to safety data sheets (SDS), global chemical and regulatory information, and emergency responder information.
The news team recently conducted a Deep Dive into the past five years of global regulatory actions and trends being tracked by 3E’s researchers and analysts. Christina Widodo, Assistant Vice President, Regulatory Research, revealed that 10 full-time researchers and analysts in the United States, Europe and Asia actively write regulatory and industry updates, aided by on-the-ground contractors in Asia, Europe and Africa. Each month, they create a detailed report of ongoing regulatory action, and provide a preview of what customers can expect in the coming months or even years, based on regulatory calendars.
This graphic illustrates the volume of regulations being tracked by 3E globally for the past 5 years.
Widodo said her team of subject matter experts reviews, analyzes and writes regulatory news updates when there is a draft or legislative amendment issued by governmental authorities. In addition to U.S. federal and U.S. states, as well as Canada and Mexico, 3E tracks regulations in 19 Latin American countries, 14 Asian Pacific countries (plus additional ASEAN countries) and 74 countries in Europe and the Middle East.
When we reviewed the last five years of regulations from these various regions, some common themes stood out, including:
- REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals; Started in the EU but similar chemical management regulations are being developed and adopted in other parts of the world, including Asia and the Nordics.)
- Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
- Digital Product Passports (DPP)
- GHS (The Global Harmonized System Of Classification & Labeling Of Chemicals)
- HazCom (Both OSHA’s Hazardous Communication Standard and global standards)
- CLP (The Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation)
- Substances of Concern In Products (SCIP)
- Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM)
- CalProp 65 (Proposition 65 requires businesses to provide warnings to Californians about significant exposures to chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.)
- Dangerous Goods (Substances and articles that have explosive, flammable, toxic, infectious, or corrosive properties that pose a risk to public safety, property, or the environment.)
- The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
Of the regulatory action being tracked by 3E, Widodo noted: “It is pretty evenly distributed in terms of how active each region’s regulators are year-over-year.”
Rob Campbell, Senior Chemical Business Advisor, 3E, noting a slight dip in regulatory initiatives starting in 2022 but expected to rebound in 2024, commented, “Certainly, the COVID downturn of the global economies slowed down regulators as well as the rest of us and the backlog is now flushing through in all regions/localities.”
From a historical perspective, he added, “The United States and European Union have always been leading the pack on a global level. The EU has certainly outpaced the U.S. in the last decade. Thanks in part to UN through their Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) initiatives and Sustainable Development Goals, we have seen progress made in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) in terms of chemical and pollution management over the last 5-10 years.”
Campbell observed that now, even more countries are getting on board with chemical management initiatives in Latin America and Asia, and there is increased interest in Africa as well. “Overlay that with state and local level chemical management efforts (e.g., Maine with PFAS, San Francisco with brominated flame retardants (BFRs), France and management of endocrine disrupters, and the number of industry or company-based initiatives (blacklists, banned/restricted substances lists), the challenge for companies is not just compliance, but also protecting and building reputation by avoiding mass tort litigation, all while facing all the other challenges of running a business.”
About the authors: Renee Stockdale-Homick, Senior Editor/Writer for 3E Monitor, fell into her work as an editor and writer after getting a master’s degree in international relations. After spending over 20 years developing content for an award-winning science education website, Science NetLinks, and a review journal, Science Books & Films, produced by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Renee now dedicates her editorial and writing skills to the task of ensuring 3E’s customers receive timely and relevant news about the regulations that affect their products, suppliers, and markets. Sandy Smith, Senior Reporter, 3E, is an award-winning newspaper reporter and business-to-business journalist who has spent 20+ years researching and writing about EHS, regulatory compliance and risk management and networking with EHS professionals. She is passionate about helping to build and maintain safe workplaces and promote workplace cultures that support EHS. She has presented at major conferences and has been interviewed about workplace safety and risk by The Wall Street Journal, CNN and USA Today.
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