On 1 June 2021, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) issued a Five-year Report on the operations of Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction (REACH) and Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) – ECHA’s two central tools for managing the safety of chemicals in the European Union. The report assesses the impact of REACH and CLP by using data available to ECHA over the 2016-2020 period and looks into what needs to change to make these two regulations more effective. Amongst others, the report highlights that synergies between REACH and CLP shall be improved to reach the ‘one substance, one assessment’ ambition. 

In its report, ECHA highlights five clusters: 

• Health and Safety for Workers: the self-classification of substances conducted by companies increases transparency of internal information and helps companies in improving safety. 
  

• Health and Safety for Consumers: the obligation of clarity in label packaging improved communication with consumers, but further efforts are needed to fully implement the Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC).
  

• Environmental Protection: regulations have strengthened the restrictions on the control of authorized substances but the limitation of available data has slowed the process.
  

• Functioning of the Internal Market: the functioning improved thanks to the actions taken by companies in participating in joint submissions for the same substance.
  

• Innovation and competitiveness: the notification of Product or Process Oriented Research and Development (PPORD) increased by 35% since 2018 and the number of new substances registered increased overall since the entry into operation of REACH. 
  

• Promotion of alternative methods of animal testing: this is achieved through effective implementation of REACH, making information available on alternatives and contributing to international activities.
  

You can read the report here.