Rattled in Europe by the REACH regulation and carbon dioxide emission curbs, international chemical companies are at the Rio Earth Summit determined to push for a global approach to environmental policy – but with a light regulatory touch.
Speaking ahead of the Rio summit, international chemical firms were keen to convey the message that environmental standards are better if they are implemented globally.
“I think globalisation of standards and definitions, common definitions are good,” said Frank Sherman, president of AkzoNobel’s North America branch.
The reasoning is simple and well-known. Rather than complying with a myriad of environmental laws in different countries, companies prefer dealing with a single set of globally harmonised rules.
“One thing that industry goes crazy about is having multiple directions, multiple rules, multiple definitions. And so we need some consistency,” Sherman told reporters in a telephone briefing organised by the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA).
