Policy and Economy

As global chemical production doubles over the next 24 years, a comprehensive approach to chemicals policies is needed to protect human health and ecosystems, stimulate new investment in safer chemistries, and build the foundation for the emerging green economy. Precautionary approaches to decision-making are needed to more efficiently reduce risks and orient market signals toward safer alternatives, even where definitive evidence of cause and effect is not yet established. The Policy and Economy sphere integrates studies in the environmental health sciences, policy, public policy, business innovation, economics, and law to advance effective chemicals policies and business practices.

To transform the design of chemicals and products, a new chemicals policy will need to address existing gaps in federal laws, notably the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976. Doing so will reorient the chemicals market toward safer chemistries, with long-term benefits for health and the environment—and for research, education, and new investment in green chemistry.

Reducing hazards of emerging low-carbon energy technologies is essential to protecting health and ecosystems from new sources of chemical pollution and exposure. As the green economy grows, it will be critical to link the principles of green chemistry with low-carbon energy technologies. Policies and business practices that make these links will generate co-benefits for climate change, public health, and the economy.

As new chemicals policies develop in the global north, it is likely that hazardous substances will continue to be sold and disposed of in the global south. A framework to assure global environmental justice is thus integral to chemicals policy. The Policy and Economy sphere is developing collaborations with colleagues in Africa and Asia to build global capacity in chemicals and materials policy.

By improving supply chain transparency and identifying and replacing hazardous chemicals and products in their portfolios, leading companies are leveraging market forces and new policies implemented in the European Union and U.S. states. The Policy and Economy sphere is building expertise to help companies adopt safer alternatives, reducing the costs and liabilities associated with the use of toxic substances.