Leveraging green chemicals to meet sustainability goals
Sustainable chemistry is key to hitting sustainability objectives. As reporting obligations increase, its role cannot be ignored. Discover more.
Companies are facing unprecedented sustainability challenges as new regulations emerge and evolve across sectors, mandating stricter laws and demands for transparent ingredients. How can companies leverage existing green chemistry practices to meet sustainability requirements?
- Understand the gap between chemicals management and sustainability goals
- Align existing chemicals management practices with jurisdictional requirements
- Streamline processes to combat regulatory obstacles and the evolving landscape
In our recent webinar, Fulfilling sustainability requirements with green chemicals, Enhesa experts Mary Foley and Jillian Stacy, alongside Change Chemistry’s Director of Partnerships and Business Development, Dr. Rui Resendes, mapped out how companies can leverage chemicals management processes to meet changing sustainability reporting requirements and initiatives.
Read on for a summary of our webinar to learn more about bridging this gap.
Understanding the gap that exists between chemicals management and sustainability initiatives
Where are companies’ primary goals and where is the pressure coming from?
In the Enhesa Chemicals Management & Sustainable Chemistry Survey of over 300 chemicals management professionals, 65% of respondents said that staying compliant with chemical regulations was their ‘most critical’ goal for their chemicals management and sustainability initiatives. In addition, nearly 57% shared that achieving supply chain transparency is vital for their business.
These results reveal that regulatory compliance remains a major driver when it comes to chemicals management and sustainability. Notably, for the large majority of respondents, external pressures far outweigh internal pressures. For 81%, pressure to achieve their business goals comes from regulators, whereas only 11% say the pressure is coming from the C-suite.
If businesses recognize the link between their use of chemicals and their sustainability goals, what is holding them back?
![SCH-CS poll [2]](https://enhesa-cdn-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/10/SCH-CS-poll-2.png "SCH-CS poll [2]")
Regulatory compliance as an obstacle
Regulatory compliance is a huge driver of sustainability goals, but it’s also a significant barrier companies have to navigate. Why so?
Ever-evolving and location-specific
Revised and emerging legislation is constantly changing the regulatory landscape, challenging companies to keep track of requirements in their area. Laws are often location-specific, either relevant to where companies are manufacturing their products, where they’re sourcing from, or where they’re being sold. As a result, businesses have to manage multiple jurisdictional compliance expectations.
The more complicated the processes and markets, the harder it is for businesses to keep track. For example, in US states alone, there are (as of October 2024) 529 bills just on PFAS, which companies need to stay ahead of.
Furthermore, regulation established in one location has a significant impact on businesses beyond that jurisdiction. Businesses both in and outside of Europe must remain aware of the potential impact of EU Directives created under various governmental bodies, such as:
- Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
- Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)
- European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS)
The risk for non-compliance can skyrocket as navigating different bodies and regional regulations becomes increasingly difficult across various sectors and areas.
Learn more about the different sustainability disclosure directives.
Mounting pressure and lack of resources
As mentioned, mounting pressure from NGOs, public interest groups, environmental justice groups, and industry regulators to act faster is putting immense strain on companies. And when pairing this with the limited resources dedicated to maintaining compliance across sectors, chemicals management becomes a lower priority. Often, there are only two or three people responsible for managing large initiatives like these, making it almost impossible to develop corporate-wide policies and action plans.
Data complexity and supply chain transparency
In a poll conducted during the webinar, 49% of attendees rated “data collection and sharing” as the area where their companies could make most improvement in connecting chemicals management activities to broader sustainability initiatives.
Many businesses don’t know the full ingredient list of chemicals used in their products and processes. This lack of transparency poses regulatory compliance issues, as businesses must contact their suppliers and obtain chemical data to comply with sustainability regulation mandates. However, engaging with suppliers can come with a host of challenges:
- Businesses may not even know exactly who their suppliers are
- Businesses may not have a direct point of contact
- Suppliers may be non-responsive or refuse to engage with data requests
- There may be complications with addressing the entire supply chain
The increased transparency expected and required by businesses is a reflection of an increase in sustainability reporting requirements. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), for instance, is particularly demanding for the heightened transparency it requires across supply chains.
Alongside the challenge of obtaining accurate and complete chemical data, transparency gives rise to an additional risk. Consumers can see chemical information throughout the supply chain, rather than just in the final product. If a business hasn’t been making sustainable choices, visibility into the business could potentially harm its brand reputation.
Leveraging green chemicals to meet sustainability goals
As shared during the webinar, some companies have already successfully integrated sustainable chemistry and sustainability requirements. Our speaker shared three case studies.
Case study #1 – Green chemistry at the forefront in beauty
A global beauty business developed its own green chemistry methodology, using it across its product sustainability, climate, and environmental initiatives, which featured prominently in its annual report.
This quantifiable method allowed the business to identify, assess, and evaluate the ingredients in chemicals used against human health, ecosystem health, and environmental health expectations, ensuring it could make the most sustainable choices.
The business made a significant effort to increase transparency in its beauty products by requesting ingredient glossaries from suppliers and making these available to customers.
Case study #2 – Reducing chemical footprint in footwear and apparel
A footwear and apparel company has set a clear goal to reduce its chemical footprint through the adoption of cleaner chemistries.
Its suppliers are held accountable for the types of chemicals and materials they opt to use with the help of chemistry playbooks and restricted substances lists (RSLs). The lists ensure more sustainable choices are made across the supply chain, with either banned or potentially banned (in the future) chemicals out of consideration. This allows the company to assess its chemicals against human and environmental impacts, and then minimize or completely eliminate use of the least preferred chemicals.
Case study #3 – A missed opportunity in automotive
While one automotive manufacturer has its own RSL in place, this is linked to circular economy and end of life considerations only. It’s missing the opportunity to use that existing RSL and draw a connection between its chemical management activities and other high value and visible topics, such as supply chain management and product safety
Takeaways from our experts
- Using sustainable chemistry to meet emerging reporting requirements is predominantly driven by regulatory pressure
- Collaborating with your supply chain is the key to increasing transparency for sustainability requirements
- Keeping track of regulations should be a top priority for corporate sustainability and sustainable chemistry goals
- There exists a palpable synergy between the day-to-day management of chemicals in products and overarching sustainability initiatives
Catch up on the webinar
For a more in-depth exploration of the current regulatory landscape, how this is impacting global companies, and the best tips for implementing green chemicals with sustainable goals, watch the full webcast for free.