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The effects of the REACH chemicals Regulation on companies importing chemicals into the EU region are considerable. The mobile-phone company Nokia is playing its role actively.
With REACH, importers and producers of chemicals are obliged to register almost all the chemicals that companies produce or import in the EU region. Requirements are also placed on the raw materials used in products: they can become either registered or notified.
“The chemical Regulation applies to Nokia as an importer and producer of products and as a downstream user of substances and preparations. The obligations are targeted most significantly at our materials, components and sub-assembly suppliers,” says Markus Terho, Director, Environmental Affairs, Customer and Market Operation.
At the preparation stage of the Regulation, Nokia used its industrial interest group to take part in commenting on the requirements. The company has been active in informing its suppliers about the future requirements and given guidelines on implementing the requirements at the general level.
Massive task
Terho says that REACH means a considerable change in the operating methods and exchange of information. There has been a clear benefit here from Nokia’s earlier voluntary work on managing information about materials.
“We have been collecting information for years about the contents of the materials in our components. This has made it much easier to assess the Regulation’s effect on our operations.”
We are talking here of a massive task, because companies must collect the information required for registration themselves and, if necessary, carry out the tests or studies stipulated by the Regulation. How much work are we in practice talking about?
“The Regulation means a considerable use of resources in order to collect the information needed and transmit information in the supply chain,” Terho says.
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