Complying with REACH is a cause of much anxiety to SME businesses. The costs of compliance can be exorbitant and may threaten their very existence. Why is this, given that SMEs benefit from reduced ECHA registration and other fees?
It is important to accept that the costs of REACH need sharing across industry. Historically, larger organisations have spent a lot of money on substance safety assessments from which SMEs have often benefited free-of-charge. Going forward, it is not unreasonable to expect SMEs to shoulder some of this financial burden in a fair manner. The problem lies with those aspects of REACH which the legislators handed over to industry to manage, where the term ‘fair’ will take on different meanings depending on your viewpoint. For example, did ECHA really expect ‘fairness and transparency’ to be the universal norm in REACH consortia, which largely operate as monopolies, charging essentially what they like for Letters of Access (LOA)? We have seen huge variability in LOA charges. Some are fair, but many are excessive, even extortionate.
Under these circumstances, what are SMEs to do?
Choose your Consultant wisely
Costly errors are being made by inexperienced SME businesses and poorer consultants in their approach to REACH compliance. When choosing your consultant, investigate their experiences of working with SME businesses. Ask for client testimonials. Does the consultant have in-depth knowledge and experience of REACH? Do they offer lowest-cost compliance options? Do they know how to value LOA charges, and have they ever negotiated with consortia to reduce these? Can the consultant perform opt-out registrations? Be wary of consultants who do not have the will or capability to defend your interests in the event you come up against unfair consortium practices.
Check SIEF & Consortium Agreements carefully
If you choose to engage actively in a consortium, or buy a LOA in order to complete a Joint Submission registration, you will be asked to sign an agreement. Usually running to many pages and often containing a lot of legal language and industry jargon, it is important to resist the temptation simply to sign the agreement and hope you are not disadvantaged. There could be clauses which compel you to contribute to future, as yet unknown costs, even though these may not be justified. Does the agreement make it clear what you are getting for your money? Some LOA documentation is poor value for money and requires significant re-work. Some consortia are known to have undertaken unjustified animal testing – do you want to be associated with this? Don’t sign agreements or pay the consortium anything until you know exactly what you are getting for your money. If necessary, get expert advice. Preferably from skilled REACH practitioners, who can properly identify the potential traps in agreements.
Plan ahead
Some SMEs say they will cease trading by the final REACH deadline of 31 May 2018, without bothering to assess if this is warranted or not. Others will continue to ignore REACH until it becomes necessary – by which time they could be in serious trouble. The positive news is that many SMEs are planning now for the final deadline, and there is good reason for this. Most substances placed on the EU market have yet to be registered and many more SMEs will be shouldering Lead Registrant responsibilities than was seen at the previous 2010 and 2013 deadlines. They will be inexperienced and require significant consultancy support over one or two years. Furthermore, all SMEs need to establish a REACH plan and budget to identify registration and other obligations and costs, and the ‘who, what, when, how’ practical steps to achieve compliance.
Preparing your SME business for the 2018 REACH registration deadline can be a daunting prospect, and we hope our suggestions are helpful to you. Please contact us if you would like to know more. We look forward to hearing from you.
Dr. Chris Eacott is a chemicals management expert with over 30 years’ experience gained in the chemical industry. He founded Stewardship Solutions in 2003 and supports the REACH/CLP compliance needs of EU and non-EU companies in a wide range of industry sectors. Stewardship Solutions is a REACHReady-approved service provider.
e: chriseacott@stewardshipsolutions.co.uk
t: +44(0)1706 220901
m: +44(0)7834 676908
www.stewardshipsolutions.co.uk
www.ReachRegistrationsSupport.com
