Policy submissions in 2015

Comments on the EU Commission Road Map on bisphenol A in food contact materials, December 2015

CHEM Trust submitted comments on the European Commission Road Map “Proposal for a new measure on bisphenol A (BPA) in food contact materials”. For more details, and context, see our blog post on the subject.

Submission to UK Parliamentary Inquiry on EU/UK Environmental Policy, November 2015

CHEM Trust has submitted a short response to the UK House of Commons Environmental Audit Commission Inquiry “Assessment of EU/UK environmental policy“.
Our evidence was cited in the final report of this inquiry, published on 19th April 2016.

Response to SEAC consultation on socioeconomic aspects of a restriction on Bisphenol A in thermal paper, November 2015

CHEM Trust has submitted a response to SEAC’s draft opinion on the socioeconomic aspects of a ban on BPA in thermal paper. For more information on this process see this blog post.

Joint NGO letter to Glenis Willmott MEP regarding EDCs in medical devices directive, November 2015

CHEM Trust joined with other NGOs to send a letter to Glenis Willmott MEP, Rapporteur for the European Parliament for the Medical Devices Directive, calling for effective action to remove EDCs from medical devices. See the Health Care Without Harm blog for more information.

Joint NGO letter to EU Health Commissioner, urging him to take precautionary action on the use of glyphosate, October 2015

CHEM Trust joined with over 45 organisations to send a letter to EU Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, urging him to take precautionary action on the use of glyphosate.

CHEM Trust comments on EFSA consultation on guidance on risk assessment of chemicals in food contact materials, October 2015

CHEM Trust submitted a response to a consultation by the European Food Standards Agency (EFSA) on risk assessment of chemicals in food contact materials, which closed on 7th October 2015. This submission has been reported on by Chemical Watch and Food Packaging Forum. We also covered it in our blog on 9th November.

Joint NGO letter to Commissioner Vella on decaBDE in recycling in UNEP POPs process, September 2015

CHEM Trust joined with a large number of NGOs to write to EU Environment Commissioner Vella to protest about the EU’s position of recycling of materials containing decaBDE within the UNEP POPs discussions. We also mention this issue in our briefing on the circular economy and chemicals. This letter has been reported on by ENDS Europe.

Briefing on the circular economy and hazardous chemicals, August 2015

As part of our submission to the European Commission’s consultation on the circular economy, we produced a briefing making recommendations for policies that are needed in order to ensure that the circular economy doesn’t end up perpetuating the use of hazardous chemicals.

Briefing on setting criteria to identify endocrine disrupters, July 2015

A briefing which critiques a proposal from the German Risk Assessment Institute (BfR) for an approach to setting criteria for identifying endocrine disrupting chemicals.

Comments on ‘negligible exposure’ in EU pesticides law, July 2015

CHEM Trust submitted comments on the definition of ‘negligible exposure’ in EU pesticides law, as part of a consultation on a draft European Commission guidance document (see 25th June meeting documents on this page).

Joint UK NGO letter to UK Business Secretary on TTIP, June 2015

CHEM Trust joined with over 20 UK NGOs and trade unions to send a letter on TTIP to the UK Government’s Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills, expressing our concerns about the proposed TTIP trade deal.
The UK Government replied to this letter on 20th July.

Joint NGO letter to Commissioners Bienkowska and Vella regarding addition of sVHCs to REACH authorisation process, May 2015

CHEM Trust joined with other NGOs to send a letter to the EU Commissioners responsible for Growth and Environment, asking them to end the informal ‘freeze’ on adding new chemicals to the authorisation process in REACH.
The EU Commission replied to this letter in July 2015, stating that the ‘freeze’ on adding new chemicals to the authorisation process in REACH is now over, and the Commission will be re-starting work on this process.

Joint NGO letter to Chair of European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, May 2015

CHEM Trust joined with other NGOs to write to the Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, calling on him to back the exclusion of chemicals from the TTIP negotiations.

CHEM Trust submission to Commission consultation on simplification of REACH authorisation, April 2015

CHEM Trust submitted comments to the European Commission’s consultation on “streamlining and simplification of the REACH authorisation application procedure for applications concerning uses of substances in low volumes and on a one-time extension of transitional arrangements for uses of substances in legacy spare parts“

Joint NGO position paper: “The Circular Economy and REACH: An Essential Partnership”, April 2015

A position paper, supported by CHEM Trust, EEB, Friends of the Earth Europe and Zero Waste Europe, explaining the essential partnership between REACH and the Circular Economy.

Letter to Executive Director of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), March 2015

A letter from CHEM Trust asking EFSA to explain why it misrepresented the results of the expert panel’s report on the safety of Bisphenol A. See this blog for his reply.

Joint letter from Civil Society groups to MEPs on TTIP, March 2015

Joint letter from 375 civil society organisations to MEPs calling for a TTIP resolution that puts people, the environment and democracy before short-term profit and disproportionate corporate rights. Other language versions available on the CEO website.

Letter to EU Health and Food Safety Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, February 2015

Letter highlighting our concerns with the European Food Standards Agency (EFSA) conclusions on Bisphenol A (BPA), and also asking what progress has been made in addressing the regulatory gaps in our protection from chemicals in food packaging – see blog. The blog on the reply we received is here.

Joint statement on the need for a new priority for the UK Treasury, February 2015

See statement on the Friends of the Earth web site.

Joint statement by Civil Society groups against Regulatory Co-operation in TTIP, February 2015

See Civil Society Statement.

Written evidence from CHEM Trust to the Environmental Audit Committee of UK House of Commons, for their inquiry on TTIP and the environment, January 2015

See blog post, or access the written evidence on the EAC site here.

Joint NGO letter and briefing on procedural and substantive flaws in the proposal to authorise DEHP in PVC, January 2015

See letter and briefing, or the end of this blog post on the proposed DEHP authorisation.

CHEM Trust submission to the European Commission’s consultation on criteria for Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals, January 2015

See blog post

Policy statements from previous years