Substances of Concern: : A Concept Becoming a New Cornerstone for Chemicals Management in the EU

The EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (‘CSS’) shed a new light on the concept of ‘Substances of Concern’. So far, risk management measures for chemicals (in products) in the EU were mostly preceded by an identification as Substance of Very High Concern and/or by the demonstration of a risk to human health or the environment, i.e. was risk-based. By contrast, the concept of Substance of Concern is hazard-based, based on a broad list of hazard classes of the EU CLP Regulation and on the new concepts of recyclability and reusability. Qualifying as such increasingly triggers automatic regulatory consequences under a variety of EU regulations. The EU legislator increasingly relies on this concept, evidencing a progressive shift towards a more hazard-centric paradigm supporting chemicals regulation in the EU. This article browses this evolution, by describing the examples of the recent EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation Proposal, as well the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. The authors highlight the need to ensure alignment in referring to the concept of Substances of Concern in new regulations, to avoid to complexify further the regulatory landscape, at a moment where a focus on competitiveness is pledged by authorities.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Substances of Concern: ; volume:7 ; number:2 ; year:2024 ; pages:59-66 ; International chemical regulatory and law review ; 7, Heft 2 (2024), 59-66

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Delille, Thomas ; Escorneboueu, Marie ; Herrera Barios, Nina

Further information

• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2411300110284.062460122891
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:33 AM CEST