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On 23 September, the European Commission took a step towards consumers’ convenience and minimising the environmental footprint associated with the production and disposal of chargers. A proposal to amend the Radio Equipment Directive 2014/54/EU (RED) aims to make a single charger for mobile devices mandatory. Although the number of mobile phone chargers had

On 4 May 2021, the European Commission (“the Commission”) published two important roadmaps to revise two of the main instruments comprising the existing EU chemicals legislation, these being the Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation (“CLP”) and the EU Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (“REACH”). The roadmaps can be accessed here. These revisions form part of the EU’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (“the Chemicals Strategy) to achieve the EU Green Deal’s zero pollution ambition for a toxic-free environment.

The draft revisions are expected to take until 2022 to be published, with the objective to improve the protection of people and the environment against hazardous chemicals in line with the Green Deal’s ambitions. Equally, the EU wishes to seize this opportunity to cement its status as a global leader in chemicals production and use. However, questions remain as to the exact scope of the revision plan for both of these pieces of legislation. A brief overview of the plans for both is set out below.
Continue Reading European Commission unveils CLP and REACH revision roadmaps

2021 is shaping up to be a very busy year for those who are affected by EU laws relating to Environment, Health & Safety, ESG and product compliance matters.

Important developments are expected this year across a number of the EU’s flagship Green Deal policy initiatives, but there are many other significant initiatives to watch out for.

Reed Smith’s EMEA EHS & Product Compliance team will be keeping a close eye on them all for you and writing more detailed pieces on developments as they occur throughout the year.

In the meantime, in this short blog we provide just a snapshot of what you can expect to see during 2021:Continue Reading EU EHS and Product Compliance laws: what to look out for in 2021