Stakeholder views on recent changes to EU chemicals legislation – are they promoting green transformation or posing challenges for the pharmaceutical sector?

Abstract

Recent changes to European Union's (EU) chemicals legislation aim to address chemicalisation of the environment and advance green transformation. Although pharmaceuticals are governed by sector-specific legislation and often exempt from certain provisions of chemicals legislation, these changes may still affect the pharmaceutical sector and its stakeholders. This study examines stakeholders' views on these reforms, their impacts, and the measures taken to promote green transformation, including potential links to the legislation. Altogether 26 semi-structured interviews with 30 interviewees from pharmaceutical industry, industry associations, non-governmental organisations, public authorities, and researchers were included in the analysis. The views on the impacts of legislative changes varied. The changes to EU water legislation and restriction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) raised most concerns within the industry. However, they were also considered to drive research to find new alternatives to substances of concern. Several stakeholders noted insufficient communication and collaboration between different sectors (chemical, environmental, pharmaceutical), however, recent legislative changes could help improve the situation. Some of the stakeholders' measures to promote green transformation – such as training on new requirements or an increase in related research – were driven by changes in legislation. Policies and regulations supporting green transformation across sectors should consider their impacts on different stakeholders, and cross-sectoral cooperation should be enhanced to avoid unintended consequences that may even undermine desirable actions.