In its session titled “Beyond Compliance – From GFC Ambition to Action: How Safe and Sustainable by Design Can Support the Latin American Chemical Industry,” the ISC3 brought together perspectives from international policy, technical expertise and industry practice.
The session featured:
- Romina Laumann, Director of Strategic Alliances at ISC3
- Eduardo Caldera Petit, Coordinator of the Global Framework on Chemicals Fund at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
- Irantzu Garmendia, Project Officer at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC)
- Mónica Martínez Junquera, R&D&I Project Manager at Avanzare Innovación Tecnológica
- Considering hazards and exposure from the initial design stage and throughout the entire life cycle
- Avoiding substitution and regrettable substitution
- Assessing the footprint of products and processes
- Sharing relevant information across value chains
- Integrating chemicals-related considerations into business models, financing decisions and sustainability reporting
- Preventing or minimising adverse impacts across the life cycle
- Future competitiveness: Companies that begin adopting SSbD will be better prepared for future regulatory requirements and evolving market expectations.
- Innovation and new business opportunities: Developing safer and more sustainable products, materials and processes can open new markets and create competitive advantages.
- Learning by doing: Companies do not need to achieve perfection from the outset. Taking initial practical steps allows them to build knowledge, test different approaches and improve over time.
- Greater supply-chain resilience: Substituting raw materials can reduce dependence on scarce inputs and help address supply shortages and gaps between supply and demand.
- Technology-supported assessment: New technological tools can help companies model and assess the potential health impacts of components while they are still being developed, supporting better-informed decisions at an earlier stage.
- Limited access to financing: Companies may struggle to secure the financial resources needed to invest in innovation and implement SSbD approaches. The costs associated with developing, testing and introducing safer and more sustainable alternatives can present a significant barrier.
- Alignment between policy and market realities: Public policies need to consider existing markets and the availability of raw materials while providing stronger incentives for industry to innovate and substitute hazardous substances with safer and more sustainable alternatives.
- Industry readiness and regulatory certainty: Participants noted that many companies are not yet prepared for a potential mandatory application of SSbD. Clear and predictable regulatory frameworks are therefore essential, particularly during the pre-market development stage, when critical design and investment decisions are made.
- Limited technical capacity in small and medium-sized industries to determine and integrate chemical foot printing and to incorporate these insights into decision-making
- Need of support to organize communication across value chain, especially in the case of small and medium companies
From ambition to implementation
The session explored how Sustainable Chemistry and the voluntary framework Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) can support the implementation of the GFC and help companies move beyond regulatory compliance towards safer chemicals, more sustainable products and processes, circularity, innovation and competitiveness.
SSbD was highlighted as an important opportunity for industry to design safer and more sustainable alternatives from the outset. It can support the transformation of products, production processes and entire value chains by:
Opportunities offered by SSbD
The exchange identified several opportunities for companies and the wider chemical industry:
The discussion also highlighted several challenges that need to be addressed to advance the practical implementation of SSbD:
The lively and highly engaging discussion connected the GFC’s global ambitions with technical tools and their practical application in industry. It demonstrated that implementing SSbD will require closer cooperation between policymakers, technical experts, financial institutions and companies.
Such collaboration can help translate the ambition of the GFC into practical solutions and support the chemical industry’s transition towards safer, more sustainable, innovative and competitive products and processes.
The ISC3 sincerely thanks all speakers and the moderator for their valuable contributions, as well as the GFC Secretariat, the European Commission, particularly its Joint Research Centre (JRC), CIQyP, and the LARCF organisers for their support and for creating a platform for this important exchange.
If you are interested in collaborating with ISC3 or would like to learn more about the GFC and the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework, we warmly invite you to contact us. We would be pleased to explore potential opportunities for collaboration and exchange.
