Definition of "substance of concern":
EU publishes groundbreaking document

In September, the EU published a document (Ecodesign for Sustainable Products
Regulation (ESPR): Frequently Asked Questions, FAQ), which is intended to provide affected companies with guidance on the definition of "substance of concern".

It states that the EU is examining a possible harmonization of the definition in the existing legal documents. However, the definition must accurately capture the intended scope of application. In fact, the Ecodesign Regulation (ESPR), the Taxonomy Regulation and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) interpret the term "substance of concern" slightly differently.

The ESPR definition

According to the ESPR, for example, a substance is of concern if it meets one of the following four criteria:

if it is already identified as a substance of very high concern under the REACH Regulation.
if it is listed in Annex VI of the CLP Regulation with certain hazardous classifications (e.g. CMR, ED, PBT/vPvB).
if it falls under the Ordinance on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP Ordinance)
if it has a negative impact on the reuse and recycling of materials in the product in which it is contained.

Criticism from the industry

Criticism from the European Chemical Industry Council, CEFIC, is mainly directed at point four. The association is calling for a specific definition for individual product categories. Otherwise, there would be a risk that around 12,000 of the 23,000 or so chemicals registered in the EU would suddenly become substances of concern.

Take care of the legal security of your products in good time. If you have any questions about the Ecodesign Regulation and the legal consequences associated with it, please contact us at sales@kft.de.