Members of the Sustainable Markets Initiative Health Systems Task Force have published an open letter to suppliers in the supply chain, asking them to commit to joining the initiative and working towards climate and sustainability targets. The CEOs of AstraZeneca, GSK, Merck& Co., Novo Nordisk, Sanofi and Samsung Biologics, and the chairman of Roche all signed it.

The independent Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) has confirmed that Evonik’s greenhouse gas emission reduction targets are in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. This seeks to limit global warming to well below 2°C.

Apical Oleochemical (Taixing), an RGE China operation, has celebrated on the completion of the initial phase of its ‘oleochemical industry integration project’ at Taixing in Jiangsu province. Construction for the initial phase began in July 2021 and was completed in March 2023, with production starting in June.

Matt Allen, product manager for elemental analysers at SciMed, explains why testing water for halogen species will be a serious consideration in the near future

Industry has come a long way towards sustainability in the last century. Gone are the days when processing plants would belch unfiltered arsenic and sulphurous fumes into the skies and pour black, smoking waste into rivers.

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has announced a new tool designed the progress of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) New Chemicals Program under the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). “We want this tool to encourage more accountability and increased transparency in new chemical reviews,” the association stated.

Chemours, DuPont and Corteva have reached an agreement in principle to resolve all per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS)-related drinking water claims of a defined class of public water systems that serve “the vast majority of the US population”. They will pay about $592 million, $400 million and $193 million respectively into a settlement fund by 12 June.

Singapore-based Sustainable Chemistry for the Textile Industry (SCTI), an alliance of six major producers of leather and textile chemicals promoting sustainable chemistry in the industry, has joined forces with the chemical industry’s Together for Sustainability (TfS) initiative. They said that they will “collaborate in driving convergence in standards and methodologies and inspire industry action for a better future”.