Regulatory Matters
Responsible Care
As a member of the Chemical Industries Association (CIA), Johnson Matthey has adopted the principles of Responsible Care® and the sustainable development goals and guiding principles outlined by the CIA in its ‘Chemistry of Sustainability’ report. This report describes how best to integrate environmental and social sustainability goals into strong economic performance. Responsible Care® is a voluntary programme in which companies commit to continuously improving their environmental, health and safety performance, with a particular emphasis on product stewardship and sustainability, and to communicating with stakeholders about their products and processes.
REACH Regulation
The REACH regulation which introduces the new EU chemical management framework is now in force and Johnson Matthey has been preparing for its implementation since the final shape of the legislation became clear several years ago. We have established a centrally coordinated REACH compliance programme covering all of our operating units and products within the scope of the regulation. Key objectives of the programme are to assure uninterrupted product flows to customers and ensure our high rate of product innovation is not affected. To avoid unnecessary testing and reduce the cost and technical burden of compliance, the company is collaborating with other industrial companies under the auspices of key trade associations. Considerable effort has been made to maintain dialogue and information flow throughout the supply chain so that product and process materials and their uses are well characterised. Individual Johnson Matthey business units will be progressing substance pre-registration and registration actions in line with REACH timelines from June 2008 onwards.
Johnson Matthey expects further international developments to occur in the next year on the territorial implementation of the Globally Harmonised System (GHS) of chemical hazard classification. This important framework encompasses the development of universal classification criteria and information provisions for chemical products with an aim of globally standardised safety data sheets and hazard labels. We support the overall aim of GHS. We have already conducted regulatory impact assessments for our operations and commenced preparation for its phased introduction.
We will deploy significant resources on our corporate REACH and GHS management projects, with the objective of timely and effective compliance. Next year is expected to be one of the most active in terms of progression of a number of REACH registration projects linked to the first deadline of 2010.
European Emissions Trading (EU ETS) Directive
Johnson Matthey has only one permitted site participating in this scheme. This site, located in the UK, remained within the pre-existing Climate Change Agreement Scheme and so benefited from the opt-out applicable to UK sites until phase two of the EU ETS began in January 2008. At that time, the site became an active participant in the scheme. Allowances for the site have been allocated and due to the peculiarities of the rules there will be a shortfall of 10,000 tonnes of CO2 resulting from the coincidental commissioning of an energy saving combined heat and power (CHP) unit during the baseline year. This will provide further stimulus for energy saving initiatives at the site to minimise the need to purchase carbon credits.