Looking ahead: ECHA’s future strategic plan
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Management Board has adopted ECHA’s Multi-Annual Strategy which sets priorities for the agency for the years 2019 through 2023.
ECHA’s strategic plan identifies three main priorities:
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- Identification and risk management of substances of concern.
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- Safe and sustainable use of chemicals by industry.
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- Sustainable management of chemicals through the implementation of EU legislation.
The new strategy also provides ECHA’s new mission and vision.
ECHA’s Mission: We, together with our partners, work for the safe use of chemicals.
ECHA’s Vision: To be the centre of knowledge on the sustainable management of chemicals, serving a wide range of EU policies and global initiatives, for the benefit of citizens and the environment.
ECHA aims to have addressed all REACH (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) substances of concern above 10 tonnes by 2030. Additionally, the agency plans to have completed the BPR (Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 concerning the making available on the market and use of biocidal products) active substance review programme by 2024. This will form the basis for having all biocidal products on the EU market licensed under BPR by 2030. Addressing involves determining if the substances are of concern, what further information is needed, or which regulatory action is appropriate.
In order to achieve these goals, it will be necessary to prioritize groups of substances and accelerate regulatory decision making and data generation by industry.
ECHA also intends to improve supply chain communication. One way this will be achieved is by intensifying support and information activities in order to help companies improve their safety advice, which will also help them satisfy their obligations under environmental, product and worker protection legislation.
Finally, ECHA will strive to improve the consistency and integration of the EU regulatory system on chemicals safety. ECHA plans to coordinate and aim to converge the implementation of the ECHA legislation with other legislation to achieve consistency and synergies. Additionally, ECHA will contribute to the OECD chemicals programme and to international instruments such as the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) in order to develop OECD standards and tools that be used in the EU. ECHA will also intensify cooperation with international partners in order to learn from other chemicals management programs and build support for countries that are developing chemicals management schemes.
For more information about ECHA’s strategic plan, please see the following link: https://echa.europa.eu/-/echa-s-future-strategic-plan-making-the-best-use-of-information-on-chemicals-in-europe
