Agenda

08:30 – 09:00

Welcome Coffee and Delegate Registration

09:00 – 09:20

Keynote Presentation - The view from the Commission

09:20 – 09:40

Keynote Presentation - The view from Industry

Representative, CEFIC*

09:40 – 10:00

Keynote Presentation - The view from the U.S.

Jim Jones , Acting Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

10:00 – 10:20

Keynote Presentation - The Asia-Pacific perspective

Representative, China *

10:20 – 10:40

Q&A Session with keynote speakers

10:40 – 11:00

Morning Coffee Break

11:00 – 12:40

Speed-pitch Session: REACH Review 2012 - Is Europe on the right track?

REACH has been in force for 5 years, and several important milestones in its implementation have already passed. Drawing from our experiences of these milestones to date along with the European Commission's extensive review of REACH, where do we stand in the REACH implementation today; what are the key leverages and our next steps? How are the various aspects of the REACH regulation working in practice and what impact has its adoption had on the EU and international chemical market?

Is the regulation meeting all of its fundamental objectives or is it necessary, at this stage, for the European Commission to table a legislative proposal based on the review outcomes? Does the scope of REACH need to be amended, in order to close gaps between or avoid overlaps with other EU legislation, for instance, the RoHS directive? What impact would a legislative revision of REACH have on the next registration deadlines in 2013 and 2018? Will this rigorous review significantly change the course of the registration process for future Registrants?

Each speaker will have 5 minutes to provide their thoughts, which will then be followed by an interactive debate (including the use of delegate voting pads) and question and answer session.

Representative, Industry*
Representative, DUCC*
Representative, Consultancy*
Fred L. Smith , President and Founder, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Vito Buonsante , Health and environment lawyer, ClientEarth
Paul Ellis , Quality Regulation Manager, Kingfisher
Thomas Fischer , Department of Environment and Energy Policy, WKÖ*

12:40 – 14:00

Lunch break

14:00 – 15:40

Beyond Registration: Managing the Authorisation and Restriction processes under REACH

Authorisation and restriction are the main regulatory risk management instruments for the EU Member State Competent Authorities and the European Commission (with the support of ECHA) under REACH. With REACH having now entered into a new phase with the application of the authorisation and restriction processes, what lessons can be learned from our experiences to date? How are authorisation and restriction currently working in practice, and what impact do they have on the functioning of the internal market?

What have been the principal challenges of the implementation of these RMO for industry and regulators alike, and what new responsibilities and obligations arise for industrial operators during this phase? Given the recent case of phthalates, does the parallel application of authorisation and restriction present any problems, and if so, what can be done to ensure greater legal clarity and to prevent duplication and overlaps between the two RMO?

14:00 – 14:15

Presentation

Jack de Bruijn , Director of Risk Management, European Chemicals Agency

14:20 – 15:40

Panel Discussion

Jack de Bruijn , Director of Risk Management, European Chemicals Agency
Finn Pedersen , Deputy Head of Division, Danish Environment Protection Agency
Linda-Jean Cockcroft , Chair, DEHP Authorisation Task Force*

15:40 – 16:00

Afternoon Coffee Break

16:00 – 17:30

SVHCs and the expansion of the candidate list

In March 2010, the European Commission committed to having 136 SVHCs on the candidate list by the end of 2012, however, it has been speculated that this policy target is unlikely to be achieved. With the new target anticipated to be at least 88 substances, is their original commitment too ambitious, and should the European Commission not meet its self-imposed target of 136 substances, will this have any impact on the momentum of the REACH regulation? With member states acquiring an increased power of initiative under REACH, how do they efficiently select which substances to propose for inclusion on the candidate list and is the restriction route not simpler and more effective?

What challenges lie ahead to ensure greater transparency in the supply chain and that consumer ‘Right to Know’ is adhered to and strengthened if necessary? Are consumers led into a false sense of safety when the candidate list alone is considered - as set out by Article 33 - and, if so, should industry go beyond the legal requirement and also actively consult ChemSec’s SIN list 2.0? Does the pace of regulatory action need to be stepped up in this respect?

Representative, European Commission*
Hugo Waeterschoot , Consultant, Eurometaux
Anna-Liisa Sundquist , Chair, Member State Committee, ECHA
Franz Fiala , Chairperson of the Environment and Nanotechnology Working Groups, ANEC
Anne-Sofie Andersson , Director, ChemSec

17:30 – 17:30

End of Day One

08:30 – 09:00

Welcome Coffee

09:00 – 09:20

Keynote Presentation - The view from the forthcoming European Presidency

Sofoclis Aletraris , Minister for Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, Cyprus*

09:20 – 09:40

Keynote Presentation - The view from the European Commission

09:40 – 09:50

Q&A Session with keynote speakers

09:50 – 11:15

Regulating Nanomaterials under REACH: progress and prospects

In October 2011 the European Commission released its much-anticipated Recommendation on the definition of a ‘nanomaterial’ in the context of the REACH regulation. To what extent has the EU regulatory definition improved the application of REACH and CLP, and how will additional regulatory compliance affect those sectors using nanotechnologies? While the adoption of this definition allows manufacturers, importers and downstream users to better comprehend which substances are classed as nanomaterials, is the scope used wide enough to ensure optimal consumer and environment protection?

What further provisions are necessary to soundly assess and manage the potential health and safety risks of using nanotechnology in everyday products and to develop best practices for companies in the chemical industry and thereby increase their confidence and mutual understanding? In light of the publication of the REACH Implementation Projects on Nanomaterials, has enough been done to effectively address nanomaterials in the context of REACH, or is further action needed?

Representative, Industry*
Bjorn Hansen , Head of Unit, DG Environment, Unit 3 - Chemicals, Biocides and nanomaterials, European Commission*
David Carlander , Director of Advocacy, Nanotechnology Industries Association
David Azoulay , Managing Attorney, Geneva Office, The Center for International Environmental Law

11:15 – 11:35

Morning Coffee Break

11:35 – 13:15

Assessment of Endocrine Disruption in the chemicals market: Next steps for the EU EDC Strategy

With the European Commission's "Community Strategy for Endocrine Disruptors" over 10 years old now, what progress has been made in this field so far and what actions have been lacking? What lessons can be learned? With the successful inclusion of 4-tert-octylphenol on the ‘Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern for Authorisation’ as the first endocrine disruptor in December 2011, what effect has this had on other chemicals which are proven to impair human and animal reproduction and development owing to their endocrine disruptive properties? To what extent did the unanimous agreement to include octylphenol on the candidate list mark the start of an increased momentum in the regulation of endocrine disruptors?

February 2012 saw the publication of the ‘State of the Art Assessment of Endocrine Disruptors’ (under contract to the Environment Directorate of the European Commission), which seemingly complemented the growing international concern about endocrine disruptors and so-called ‘chemical cocktails’, but, what contribution has this study made in paving the way forward for the hazard identification and risk assessment of such chemicals? In view of the outcomes of this study, are OECD's international test methods adequate in identifying endocrine disrupting chemicals?

Representative, Goodyear*
Bob Diderich , Head of Division, Environment Directorate, OECD
Peter Korytar , Policy Officer, DG Environment, European Commission*
Martin Kayser , Senior Vice President of Product Safety, Regulations, Toxicology and Ecology, BASF*
Sylvain Lefebvre , Deputy General Secretary, European Trade Union Federation

13:15 – 14:30

Lunch Break

14:30 – 16:00

The way forward for addressing combination effects of chemicals

Traditional chemicals risk assessment treats chemicals as if they act alone, when in reality there is exposure to multiple substances simultaneously. Is the current single chemical risk assessment approach – as required by existing regulatory schemes – sufficiently protective of human health and the environment and an effective means for identifying the drivers of risk of a mixture? Or does the framework for legislation on chemicals in the EU need to be improved at a quicker pace so that the legislation stipulates the inclusion of potential combination effects when risk-assessing chemicals?

What is currently being done to reduce consumer exposure to chemical cocktails and what measures may still be implemented to better assess combination effects and regulate chemicals in consumer products? Which chemicals should be grouped together for mixtures risk assessment, and what are scientifically sound grouping criteria?

This session will also address the outcomes of the European Commission’s communication on combination effects, expected in the upcoming weeks.

Representative, Industry*
Representative, Member State*
Representative, NGO*
Katarina Piršelová , Policy Officer - REACH and combination effects of chemicals, DG Environment , European Commission*
Thomas Backhaus , Faust & Backhaus, Environmental Consulting*

16:00 – 16:00

End of Conference