ICCA Joins High Ambition Alliance

Global Chemical Industry Continues to Heed Call for More Ambition

MADRID (December 9, 2019) – The International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) today announced its commitment to join the High Ambition Alliance on Chemicals and Waste. As the worldwide voice of the chemical industry, ICCA is committed to making meaningful progress, in cooperation with governments and other stakeholders, to enhance the safe management of chemicals and waste around the globe, and drive progress to overcome our world’s most pressing sustainability challenges.

“Governments, industry and other stakeholders have together made significant progress toward the sound management of chemicals. However, work remains to be done. We believe that the High Ambition Alliance dialogue now underway is a valuable addition to the work undertaken thus far,” said Chris Jahn, ICCA Council Secretary and President and CEO of the American Chemistry Council. “While ICCA still has several questions about the concrete actions the High Ambition Alliance envisions to take, enhancing sustainability in chemical management, production, and use requires action and cooperation — from all stakeholders — in a more focused and targeted way.”

ICCA remains committed to achieving the safe management of chemicals and waste globally through the auspices of the Strategic Approach to Chemicals Management (SAICM). Over the past 12 years, SAICM’s voluntary, multi-stakeholder, multi-sectorial approach has enabled governments of developed and developing nations, as well as non-governmental organizations, industry, and other supporters to partner and collaborate in ways that would not otherwise be possible without a voluntary approach.

“As citizens of the planet, we can all agree on the need to manufacture, use, and transport chemicals safely, with risks appropriately minimized and managed. Although the SAICM goal has not yet been reached, we believe that SAICM continues to be the best platform to drive the sound management of chemicals globally,” continued Jahn. “However, the High Ambition Alliance can serve a valuable role in building and leveraging broad and inclusive coalitions between governments, industry, and other stakeholders. We thank the Alliance for recognizing the value of including industry as a critical stakeholder in global discussions regarding the sound management of chemicals and waste.”

ICCA’s member associations, federations, and companies invest, manufacture, and deploy life-enhancing products and technologies around the world. By harnessing the power of chemistry’s essential benefits and collaborating with those committed to making the world a more sustainable place, ICCA is helping a growing population make the best use of the world’s scarce resources, drive innovation that supports the 2030 agenda, and accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.