Integrated Regulatory Strategy annual report

Assessing chemicals in groups has continued to speed up identification of substances for which regulatory risk management may be required. In 2022 EU authorities opened assessments of 2 000 substances in 61 groups. 

Helsinki, 4 July 2023 – ECHA’s fifth annual report of its Integrated Regulatory Strategy shows continued progress in identifying substances of concern. 

In 2022, the assessments of regulatory needs were opened for more than 2 000 substances grouped based on their structural similarity. ECHA, by assessing the regulatory needs of groups of substances, identified almost 500 substances for which further risk management actions may be needed. However, for most of them the potential hazards need to be confirmed first by further data generation. Over 750 substances assessed in 2022 do not require further risk management action

Since ECHA launched its grouping approach in 2019, around 5 000 substances have been assessed and 1 400 substances identified for which further risk management actions may be needed. These assessments feed into the European Commission’s restriction roadmap and have identified hundreds of substances for which a harmonised classification may be necessary, thereby contributing to the aims of the EU’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and the EU’s Green Deal.

We will continue to further develop our approach to speed up the risk management actions for the most harmful chemicals, and we plan in late 2023 and early 2024 to involve stakeholders in discussions on the approach.

Background

ECHA’s Integrated Regulatory Strategy aims to speed up data generation, identification of groups of substances of concern, and regulatory action. It does so by integrating different regulatory processes into one coherent approach to manage chemical risks effectively and efficiently. The strategy also encourages collaboration between ECHA, Member States and the European Commission.

The goal of the work is to clarify which registered substances are a high priority for regulatory risk management or data generation, and which are currently a low priority for further regulatory action.