The European Commission’s SSbD initiative is a “voluntary framework that can be applied during the chemical- and material related innovation process in order to minimise negative effects on human health and environment, as well as the use of harmful substances and in general, make the process more sustainable”. The commission launched the testing phase for this initiative last year, during which relevant organisations had the chance to provide feedback.
On 6 September, the joint press release on the SSbD consultation was published by both EuChemS and GDCh. In this press release, the comments on the pilot of the Commission’s initiative, submitted as a response to its call for feedback were summarised. Chemical societies welcome the initiative, and appreciate the proposed wholistic approach towards improving safety and sustainability. However, the crucial nature of chemical education and basic research was emphasized in the feedback. In relation to this, chemical societies advised against blanket bans on chemicals used in these areas, citing the importance of learning how to handle hazardous chemicals in chemical education. Furthermore, the press release recommended policymakers to utilise the vast resources of learned chemical societies.
Earlier in 2023, at the 4th meeting of the High Level Roundtable on Sustainable Chemicals, EuChemS already commented on the importance of chemical education in relation to SSbD, and the resources represented by chemical societies was also mentioned by EuChemS at the 6th Zero Pollution Stakeholder meeting.
