Standards and regulations for a bio-based economy and a circular economy in Europe
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Chemical regulation and standards will help create more sustainable habits in manufacturing and product use. Case studies regarding solvents are used to illustrate the impact of Europe's bio-based economy (governed by standards) and circular economy (governed by EC directives).
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Standards and regulations for a bio-based economy and a circular economy in Europe
- 1. www.greenchemistry.net Europe’s bio-based and circular economies: James.Sherwood@york.ac.uk Rio de Janeiro April 2016 Standards and regulation
- 2. www.greenchemistry.net Mandated standardisation – Voluntary trade documents Directives – Centrally determined targets Regulation – Enforced laws Bio-based products Renewable energy, emissions, waste, and the circular economy REACH, CLP Increasing authority europa.eu/eu-law/decision-making/legal-acts/index_en.htm
- 3. www.greenchemistry.net REACH Regulation (EC 1907/2006) ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/reach/ reach_en.htm Trichloroethylene, sunset date: 21/04/2016
- 4. www.greenchemistry.net REACH Regulation (EC 1907/2006) www3.kemi.se/en/Content/Statistics/Statistics-in-brief/Statistics-in-brief---Products-and-sectors/Solvents/ Swedish chlorinated solvent use Law passed in 1991 Implemented 1996
- 5. www.greenchemistry.net REACH Regulation (EC 1907/2006) Policy Instruments for Environmental and Natural Resource Management, by T. Sterner and J. Coria; Economic Instruments in Chemicals Policy: Past Experiences and Prospects for Future Use, by Patrik Söderholm; D. Slunge and T. Sterner, European Environment, 2001, 11, 281; The effect of different regulatory schemes taking the use of trichloroethylene in Sweden and Germany as an example, by F. Birkenfeld et al. Elsewhere in Europe… Norway placed a tax on TCE at 300-500% of market price (2000) Germany created very strict TCE emission limits to discourage use and requirements to only use closed systems (1986)
- 6. www.greenchemistry.net REACH Regulation (EC 1907/2006) eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1448547555782&uri=OJ:JOC_2015_392_R_0006 Two TCE REACH authorisations were granted last year (17 more pending, 7-12 year authorisation periods expected)
- 7. www.greenchemistry.net REACH Regulation (EC 1907/2006) echa.europa.eu/regulations/reach/authorisation/the-candidate-list echa.europa.eu/candidate-list-table Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) An opportunity for bio-based products?
- 8. www.greenchemistry.net Bio-based product standardisation www.cen.eu/work/products/ENs/Pages/default.aspx A standard provides harmonised rules, guidelines or characteristics for products, activities, and test results. Rather technical and mostly unknown to the public, standards are often perceived as boring and not particularly relevant, but are actually crucial in facilitating trade. Benefits from standardization: • mutual understanding • increased product safety and quality assurance • lower transaction costs and prices.
- 9. www.greenchemistry.net Open-bio is developing test methods and recommendations for European standards describing bio-based content, biodegradation, recycling strategies, as well as labelling and procurement tools, and • Our goal is to assist the growth of the European bio-based product market. • Started in November 2014 as a 3 year EC-funded FP7 project. Bio-based product standardisation
- 10. www.greenchemistry.net co-normative research pre-normative researchResearch results TC 411 normative action Questions Answers Answers Bio-based product standardisation
- 11. www.greenchemistry.net Fossil reserves Not recirculated Sustainability criteria (EN 16751) Bio-based content (CEN/TS 16640 & EN 16785-1) End-of-life options: •Mechanical recycling •Chemical recycling •Biodegradation renew recycle reuse Vertical standards (e.g. CEN/TS 16766), communication templates (e.g. FprEN 16848) & LCA (EN 16760) www.cen.eu/work/areas/chemical/biobased/Pages/default.aspx
- 12. www.greenchemistry.net Performance Bio-based content HSE Sustainability Bio-based solvents CEN/TS 16766 At least 25% bio-based carbon • Class A: ≥95% • Class B: ≥50% • Class C: ≥25% Provide data but no threshold values: • Polarity • Volatility • Colour • Density • Viscosity No harsher than REACH and GHS/CLP No extra barriers for bio-based solvents Sustainable biomass must be used, and optionally the production phase assessed Bio-based product standardisation
- 13. www.greenchemistry.net How to unify these ‘green’ EU economic strategies? Circular economy (general legislated targets) ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/index_en.htm Reduce food waste and marine litter Increase recycling and re-use of municipal waste to 65% Maximum landfilling rate of 10% Bio-based economy (standardised product descriptions) www.biobasedeconomy.eu Biomas s Product s Some end-of-life requirements for certain products Bio-based product standardisation
- 15. www.greenchemistry.net Recirculated: Returned to use within a certain timeframe by an anthropogenic process and/or a natural process. Open-Bio D3.4 Definitions for renewable elements and renewable molecules Renewable: Comes from renewable resources and is returned to use within a certain timeframe by a natural process. Returned to use within a certain timeframe by an anthropogenic process. Recyclable:Reusable: Returned to use within a certain timeframe without modification to the parent article or loss of performance. Report available online at http://www.biobasedeconomy.eu/research/open- bio/publications
Editor's Notes
- Why am I talking about this? I work on a project supporting the development of standards for bio-based products.
- (1) Not the complete story. Different situations call for different measures. Standards was favoured for bio-based products because of problems with RED (biofuels) – high GHG emissions and indirect land use issues raising food prices. (2) Often directives are preferred, but harmonised initiatives require regulations (REACH and CLP). CLP = Classification, Labelling and Packaging. (3) I will describe how REACH provides an opportunity for new products despite burdens on suppliers and producers, and how bio-based economy is supported by standards, and also a little about the role of a bio-based economy within a European circular economy.
- (1) The InfoCard is a dissemination tool introduced by the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) to make the technical information published from the substance databases of the Agency more accessible to the general public. (2) Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals REACH aims to improve the protection of human health and the environment through the better and earlier identification of the intrinsic properties of chemical substances. This is done by the four processes of REACH, namely the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals. REACH also aims to enhance innovation and competitiveness of the EU chemicals industry. (3) TCE will be subject to authorisation as of next week (carcinogen).
- (1) 1980’s TCE use in Sweden was twice that of the 1990’s – a fall in TCE pre-dated the ban as proactive substitution was made and air quality rules were tightened (degreasing is a typical application). (2) A strong measure (i.e. a complete ban) provokes a strong response, and many companies complained. The Chemicals Inspectorate was lenient and hundreds of exemptions issued, open systems were not banned. (3) The ban was also challenged with European court action – no TCE made in Sweden so the ban was said to contravene European trade agreements (free movement of goods) – but the complaint not upheld. (4) The ban was badly implemented – it made the government look bad, litigation was expensive, and the approaches of Norway and Germany were more effective.
- (1) Half the Norwegian tax could be reclaimed upon return of TCE sludge, encouraging capture (reducing exposure) and discouraging open systems. (2) Under the Swedish system companies were not adequately assessing the cost-benefits of substitution, and often the cost of substitution was low. So continuing to use open systems of TCE was unnecessary and dangerous, the ban failed in this respect. (3) German system of strictly limiting emissions meant closed systems prevented any exposure to humans of the environment, or operators chose safer solvents instead.
- (1) Lessons – past exceptions (pre-REACH) not implemented well; better to prioritise limiting emissions and exposure. (2) Socio-Economic Analysis (SEA) proves harm to humans/environment is worth it. Lack of alternatives must be shown too. So REACH seems to be a best of all worlds, minimising risks while preserving economic benefits to Europe. (3) Does a ban just push production and use abroad? >50% of TCE use is now in China.
- The first step in the authorisation process is to identify those substances that may have serious effects on human health or the environment and, therefore, the risks resulting from their use must be properly controlled and the substances progressively replaced when possible. A Member State or ECHA at the request of the European Commission, can propose a substance to be identified as a Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC). If identified, the substance is added to the Candidate List, which includes candidate substances for possible inclusion in the Authorisation List (Annex XIV).
- How do the TC 411 standards fit life cycle of bio-based products? Quite cradle-to-gate (for B2B purposes, plus general end-of-life covered by existing standards). Some additional work in Open-Bio is helping establish a cradle-to-grave perspective.
- Bio-based solvents is the only vertical standard produced by TC 411. Will become a full standard later this year.
- Circular economy is cradle-to-cradle. Incineration and biodegradation is only valuable in a circular economy if the products are 100% bio-based – the material is recirculated. Do not assume bio-based = green or = compatible with a circular economy. Product design is important.
- Definitions and test methods to help design for end-of-life and appreciate circular economy needs have been produced by the Open-Bio consortium.