Product stewardship is where environmental, health and safety protection centres on the product itself, and everyone involved in the lifespan of the product is called upon to take up responsibility to reduce its environmental, health and safety impacts. This umbrella of activities encompasses many systems including communication of safety information and hazards to customers, health and safety legislation and compliance with global regulations concerning the import/export and use of chemical-based products. Gurit has a legal and ethical responsibility to ensure we do all we can to sanction good product stewardship.
Regulatory compliance has become even more important in recent years due the advent of REACH (Restriction, Evaluation and Authorisation of chemicals) and GHS (Globally Harmonised System). But also encompasses a much wider global picture as other nations develop and introduce their own regulatory systems such as TSCA in the USA, China ‘Reach’ and Japan CSCL (chemical substances control law). Gurit supplies to a global community so we must develop our products with this in mind. Gurit actively looks at these aspects when developing solutions for our global market; understanding our materials and their end uses as well as ensuring our supply chain is both compliant and follows our strict requirements for Product Stewardship. Each industry sector, automotive, wind, aerospace, transportation and marine, all have their own specific requirements relating to chemicals they do not wish to or are unable to use and these restrictions are taken into account right from the initial formulation stage.
Regulatory compliance is a dynamic process with new legislation being implemented and changes made to existing systems continually. Gurit is placing focus on these areas and proactively looking for changes and new legislations to ensure customers have the most accurate information and the supply chain is maintained globally.
In order to support this, Gurit has a dedicated Product Stewardship department of regulatory experts. Product Stewardship in Gurit has three key functions
- Manage the portfolio of products throughout the supply chain. From supplier to customer the effective management and communication of information is vital to ensuring the provision of accurate safety and classification data to customers and to keeping customers reliably informed of regulatory activity surrounding products.
- Monitoring of chemicals for future regulatory activity, ensuring that Gurit is proactive in managing regulatory changes. Risks are identified early, modifications can be assessed and implemented in a practical and measured manner.
- Continually driving improvements in product offerings to improve the regulatory impact on customers using our products. The search for safer, greener and more environmentally friendly chemicals is an ongoing effort that ultimately aims to benefit human health and the environment. Gurit substances are targeted for substitution where feasible and improved chemicals are evaluated on a regular basis.
The following pages give more information on the various areas of product stewardship and regulatory compliance. Any questions on product stewardship can be sent to; regulatory@gurit.com