Chemical Compounds Under Scrutiny
The Substance of Concern (SoC) concept, once primarily focused on safety issues, is now expanding its scope to encompass circularity objectives within the European Union (EU). This shift is a significant part of the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS), which aims to make the EU's chemicals policy more comprehensive and sustainable.
The CLP Regulation, a key piece of EU legislation, has incorporated new hazard classes such as ED, PBT/vPvB, and PMT/vPvM. This expansion is in line with the EU's evolving approach from a risk-based to a more hazard-centric approach, particularly evident in the context of REACh restrictions.
The revision of the CLP Regulation also encourages new hazard classifications and simplifies processes, making it easier to identify substances of concern. The Commission, empowered to initiate harmonized classification in the CLP Regulation, is now at the forefront of this process.
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) will be responsible for classifying substances as SoC in the future. This decision-making process, regulated under EU chemicals legislation such as REACH and CLP regulations, involves scientific assessment, stakeholder consultation, and regulatory oversight to ensure harmonized classification across the EU.
Alignment between self-classifications is incentivized and grouped classification prioritized in the CLP Regulation, whenever scientifically justifiable.
The concept of SoC is increasingly present in EU legislations beyond the remits of chemicals regulation. For instance, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive introduces reporting requirements on SoC, including policies for their substitution and minimization, reduction targets, and conditions of production, use, distribution, and import/export.
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) also reference the ESPR definition of SoC.
The identification of a SoC in the context of the ecodesign for sustainable products regulation may trigger information and notification requirements throughout a product's value chain and lifecycle. The actual classification of substances as being 'of concern' will be defined at a later stage, within product and material-specific ecodesign requirements.
Uncertainties remain, even more so considering that the concerned policies constitute an inheritance from the previous Commission. Many acts remain to be adopted before the SoC concept becomes fully operative in the EU. Monitoring the adoption of the first set of ecodesign requirements is key, as they may set a precedent.
The example of the PFAS restriction proposal is striking in the context of the evolution of the EU chemicals legislation. This proposal underscores the Commission's recent expressed intentions regarding the REACh revision and ongoing substances restrictions.
The consequences of identifying a SoC will depend on each ecodesign requirement. It is crucial to keep a close eye on the developments in this area, as the EU chemicals legislation continues to evolve and become more comprehensive and sustainable.
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