INDUSTRY LAUNCHES REACH COMPLIANCE PROGRAM FOR SUPPLIERS
Date: Wednesday, July 15 @ 10:00:41 EDT
Topic: Corporate Responsibility
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New Guidance on REACH Requirements for
Substances in Articles published last week by the European Chemicals Agency
(ECHA) provides the backdrop for Philips new corporate REACH compliance program
for all suppliers to Philips lighting, consumer lifestyle and healthcare
businesses. Starting from August 2009 the REACH Candidate List of Substances of
Very High Concern (SVHC) will be updated every six months and the European
Chemicals Agency (ECHA) intends to add about 25 substances per year to the
list. Suppliers to Philips need to join BOMcheck, the substances declarations
web database developed by leading environmental consultants, ENVIRON.
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"Philips has decided not to receive REACH compliance information
individually from each of our suppliers each time a new list is
published" said Jan-Willem Scheijgrond, Senior Director Environment,
Health & Safety at Philips Corporate. "Instead, we require all of
our suppliers to comply with these REACH obligations by joining
BOMcheck - the centralised, open-access substances declarations web
database."
The ECHA Guidance highlights that "Supply chain communication is the
most important and effective way of gathering the information needed to
identify compliance obligations under REACH. In this regard,
establishing communication standards for the supply chain is an
important task for the private sector in order to facilitate the
implementation of REACH".
BOMcheck provides this communication standard. The industry-wide
initiative is led by the European trade association COCIR
(www.cocir.org) and has been developed by ENVIRON.
How the web database works
There are two types of account on www.BOMcheck.net. Companies in the middle of the supply chain will need both accounts:
* A supplier account which provides access to the BOMcheck expert
guidance and declaration tool to generate and maintain substance
declarations on the database for the part numbers that you supply to
your customers such as Philips, Siemens, Black Box etc.
* A manufacturer account which provides access to download all
substance declarations data from the database, for example, for the
part numbers that you buy from your suppliers.
Suppliers save time and effort because they do not have to keep track
of new substance restrictions, declaration requirements and exemptions.
Instead, BOMcheck notifies suppliers when they need to take action and
provides expert guidance for suppliers to follow.
Supply chain management tools
BOMcheck provides unique tools to manage substance declarations across the entire supply chain, including:
* Mapping tool which maps the supplier part number against the OEM or
distributor part number. When the supplier updates the declaration
status of their part number this automatically updates the declaration
status of all mapped part numbers.
* Assembly part number tool which links one assembly part number to
multiple part numbers from different suppliers. When a supplier updates
the declaration status of any of these part numbers, this automatically
updates the declaration status for the whole assembly.
* REACH Article 33 customer report tool calculates the overall
concentration of SVHCs in an assembly of part numbers from different
suppliers. The tool provides expert guidance to assist manufacturers to
take a risk assessment approach to any gaps in supplier part number
data.
About ENVIRON
A leading international consultancy, ENVIRON partners with clients to
assess and manage the potential environmental, energy, and health
issues associated with their activities and products. Decision makers
rely on us as they strive to reduce or eliminate health and
environmental impacts throughout their business life cycles - from
acquisition to ongoing operations to restructuring or divestiture.
Whether responding to existing challenges or seeking strategies to
prevent future liabilities, clients around the world benefit from our
blend of universally high technical skills and knowledge of local
requirements and practices.
SOURCE: ENVIRON
7-15-2009
CONTACT: Caroline Chilton,
European Marketing Executive,
+44 1225 748420,
cchilton@uk.environcorp.com
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