Together with Gaia Consulting and Attorneys at law Borenius, Spinverse in conducting a study on REACH contribution to development of emerging technologies. The project started in June 2011 and final results will be published in February 2012.
Emerging technologies such as nanotechnologies, micro-and nanoelectronics etc. offer Europe a possibility to meet the challenges of Europe 2020: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth (EU 2020). Emerging technologies represent advances and innovation in various fields of technology. Various converging technologies have emerged as different systems and technologies have been evolving towards similar goals, finding synergy and beneficial phenomena, creating new efficiencies.
The core legal frameworks for emerging technologies in chemicals sector are REACH (Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) and CLP (Regulation on Classification, Labelling and Packaging). It is important how the legal frameworks contribute to the success, growth potential and competitiveness of companies engaged in development, commercialisation and uptake of emerging technologies. Many of these companies are small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) or spin-offs. As the SME sector contributes a large part of new jobs created in the EU, the promotion of regulatory frameworks of these enterprises is of particular interest.
This study for the DG Enterprise and Industry assesses current and further possibilities of REACH and CLP to effectively foster innovative development, enhanced commercialisation and speeded uptake of products of emerging technologies to ensure their contribution to addressing the EU 2020 challenges. The study shall entail recommendations for areas in which improvement could be made.