State Secretary at the Federal Environment Ministry Jochen Flasbarth calls for increased international efforts to better protect human health and the environment from chemicals. At the opening of an international conference in Berlin Flasbarth made the following statement: "The impact of hazardous chemicals on the environment and health does not stop at national borders. The international community must therefore make every effort to make the production and use of chemicals safer worldwide and protect people and the environment from harmful effects. Only by working together can we ensure that risks are reduced to an environmentally and socially acceptable minimum."
President of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) Maria Krautzberger, under whose aegis the conference was held, pointed out that chemicals are omnipresent in our daily lives: "They are globally traded and disseminated through products. Residues of perfluorinated and polyflourinated chemicals from the production of water-repellent clothing can be found everywhere in the world, even in the Arctic."
In order to promote the international process, the Federal Environment Ministry is planning to establish an internationally active competence centre. State Secretary Flasbarth stressed that it would play a role in shaping future international chemicals policy in terms of sustainable chemistry. Sustainable chemistry is more than chemical safety: The core responsibilities include environmental issues such as the frugal consumption of finite resources, the avoidance of hazardous waste, the avoidance of emissions of hazardous substances into the environment, the conservation of biodiversity, but also social and economic issues.
Flasbarth: "The concept of sustainable chemistry will only prevail if it is economically successful and it opens up opportunities for the necessary economic and social progress - even and especially in the developing and emerging countries. Such progress is probably unachievable with the existing instruments of chemical management."
According to UBA President Krautzberger there are already a number of good examples and business ideas for sustainable chemistry: "One manufacturer uses renewable raw materials such as straw, hay and leaves to produce building materials using yeast mycelium. The mycelium fungus uses raw materials as food and binds them. Using heat and pressure, the material is formed into molded parts, used in items such as building panels, packaging or even pieces of furniture. Future business fields also include components for automobiles, for example for interior trim or soundproofing."
Around 200 representatives from politics, business, research and associations are taking part in the international conference "Sustainable Chemistry 2015: The way forward", which continues until tomorrow. In addition to conceptual issues in the field of sustainable chemistry, other practical issues such as the use of perfluorinated substances in the production of textiles will be dealt with and successful examples of sustainable chemistry will be presented.