The German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) organised a workshop “Substitution under REACH – authorisation procedure or substitution?”, which took place in Dortmund, on 25 April 2013. The workshop focused on the challenges posed on companies using substances subject to authorisation. Rémi Lefevre from the European Commission, DG Environment advised participants to look at the cost of developing alternatives verses the cost of applying for authorisation. Lothar Lissner from SUBSPORT was invited to present SUBSPORT – the portal to support companies in substitution.

The presentations can be found at the BAuA Website (German).

The case story database presenting substitution examples from enterprises and literature is a central element of the SUBSPORT web portal. It is constantly growing and the number of published cases exceeded 300 at the end of March. For about one third of the cases the English case story descriptions have been translated to French, German and Spanish.

Go to: SUBSPORT case story database

The World Cancer Day was held on 4 February to raise awareness about cancer and to encourage its prevention and treatment. On this occasion the main conclusions drawn from the workshop ‘Carcinogens and Work-related Cancer’, organised by EU-OSHA in September, 2012 and hosted by the German ministry of labour and social affairs in their offices in Berlin were published. The workshop included a presentation of SUBSPORT, which was regarded a valuable tool to facilitate the substitution of hazardous substances.

Go to: osha.europa.eu

Greenpeace East Asia Beijing office is working with SUBSPORT to organise a forum on chemical substitution in Hangzhou, China. The forum aims to provide a platform where industry and policy makers could communicate the method and approaches about safe chemical substitution. The format and content of the forum is based on the SUBSPORT training programme, which has been carried out for more than 15 sessions with great success.

Go to: chemlinked.com

The SUBSPORT case story database presents practical examples of substitution, and many of the case stories are provided directly by companies carrying out substitution efforts. In December, the number of case stories published in the database exceeded 200. They can serve as inspiration and offer concrete help to companies or organisations searching for substitutes to hazardous chemicals. You can contact the SUBSPORT team to share your substitution experience in the growing case story database and promote your green and innovative image.

Go to: SUBSPORT case story database

The Guide to Safer Chemicals was released on 3 December 2012. BizNGO is a collaboration of leaders from businesses, environmental organizations, government agencies, and universities. Their mission is to promote the creation and adoption of safer chemicals and sustainable materials.  The BizNGO Guide to Safer Chemicals—is a unique resource for downstream users of chemicals. It is a hands-on-guide that charts pathways to safer chemicals in products and supply chains for brand name companies, product manufacturers, architects and designers, retailers, and health care organisations. SUBSPORT is mentioned in the guide as a publicly available source of alternatives.  The guide also refers to a SUBSPORT case story on substitution of broiminated flame retardants (HP).

Go to www.bizngo.org or to  the report

Greenpeace has published the 18th edition of their Guide to Greener Electronics, evaluating leading consumer electronics companies based on their environmental commitment and progress.
In this edition of the Guide to Greener Electronics, Greenpeace has included the sharing of substitution case stories in the SUBSPORT case story database as a way of gaining points.

“Top marks are only given to those companies who also publicly advocate for the use of alternatives to hazardous substances, for example, by providing case studies on the process of substituting these substances (…) with safer alternatives,” states Greenpeace.

So far HP and Dell are the companies who have gained points for submitting their case stories to SUBSPORT. HP describes how they have evaluated, and now use, alternatives to brominated flame retardants. Dell describes elimination of mercury in displays.

“Information on available and functioning alternatives is often identified as one of the main barriers to the phase-out of hazardous substances. Therefore, sharing such knowledge among companies is crucial. These two companies have put effort into describing their substitution work for the benefit of others, and I am pleased to see that they have now also been ‘rewarded’ for this in the Greenpeace ranking”, comments Anna Lennquist, ChemSec toxicologist.

The Greenpeace guide scores companies on overall policies and practices, not on specific products, and is intended to provide consumers with a snapshot of the sustainability of the biggest names in the electronics industry.

Go to the Guide to Greener Electronics and to the Ranking Criteria

If you would like to share your experiences in substituting hazardous substances with safer alternatives, contact us at info@subsport.eu or use the entry form

The Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) is a policy framework to promote chemical safety around the world. SAICM held the third session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management from 17 to 21 September 2012 at the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON, Kenya). The Conference evaluated and addressed emerging policy issues, considered new activities for addition to the Global Plan of Action, evaluated the financing of its Strategic Approach and took strategic decisions for the future.

SUBSPORT was presented as part of the exhibition and in a side event to the conference.

Go to: www.saicm.org

24 MAY 2012 – HELSINKI CHEMICALS FORUM

There is an urgent need to phase out harmful chemicals and replace them with safer alternatives or techniques to reduce adverse health effects and environmental pollution. SUBSPORT, the Substitution Support Portal, shows you how this can be done, and which alternatives can be used. SUBSPORT is a free-of-charge multilingual web portal providing tools and guidance for substance evaluation and substitution management. The launch includes the first-time release of the case story database presenting practical real-case examples of companies and other stakeholders that have done successful substitution work.

PROGRAMME

• SUBSPORT – Substitution Support Portal: moving towards safer alternatives
  Raluca Aurora Stepa, Kooperationsstelle Hamburg and Tatiana Santos Otero, ISTAS

• Collaboration helps substitution of hazardous materials: a case story example from Skanska
  Eva-Lena Carlen-Johansson, Manager Sustainability Projects, Skanska

• Workers’ role in promoting substitution: a case story example from CCOO
  Ana García Oliver, Unión Sindical Madrid Región de Comisiones Obreras

• Bright science for a brighter living: a case story example from DSM
  Annette Wilschut, Senior Advisor Product Safety & Toxicology, Royal DSM N.V

• Q&A and discussion

WHEN: 24 May 17.00-18.00

WHERE: Side event at the Helsinki Chemicals Forum, Room 216, Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre, Helsinki, Finland (www.helsinkicf.eu). Free of charge event. Refreshments will be served.

For more information about the launch event, please contact Amanda Huss at amanda.huss@chemsec.org

Go to: invitation

The LIFE programme celebrates its 20th anniversary throughout May 2012. To mark this important milestone in the history of the EU’s financial instrument for the environment, the LIFE units warmly invited all LIFE projects to contribute.
SUBSPORT adds four events to the LIFE at 20 calendar at www.life20.eu:

• 19 April, Alternatives Identification & Assessment Training, Denmark
• 23 April, Alternatives Identification & Assessment Training, Romania
• 24 May, SUBSPORT Launch at Helsinki Chemicals Forum, Finland
• 1 June, Alternatives Identification & Assessment Training, Sweden