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Industry launches REACH compliance program for suppliers |
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BATH, ENGLAND, Jul. 15 -/E-Wire/-- New Guidance on REACH Requirements for Substances in Articles published last week by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) provides the backdrop for Philips new corporate REACH compliance program for all suppliers to Philips lighting, consumer lifestyle and healthcare businesses. Starting from August 2009 the REACH Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) will be updated every six months and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) intends to add about 25 substances per year to the list. Suppliers to Philips need to join BOMcheck, the substances declarations web database developed by leading environmental consultants, ENVIRON.
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The REACH regulation requires suppliers to inform Philips and other OEMs whether the parts they supply contain > 0.1% w/w of any of the substances on this list. The ECHA Guidance confirms that business suppliers are required to inform their customers "automatically i.e. directly after the substances are included in the Candidate List". The Guidance also notes that "whenever standard information from suppliers is not sufficient to check compliance with REACH, companies have to obtain the necessary information by pro-active requests in the supply chain."
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"Philips has decided not to receive REACH compliance information individually from each of our suppliers each time a new list is published" said Jan-Willem Scheijgrond, Senior Director Environment, Health & Safety at Philips Corporate. "Instead, we require all of our suppliers to comply with these REACH obligations by joining BOMcheck - the centralised, open-access substances declarations web database."
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The ECHA Guidance highlights that "Supply chain communication is the most important and effective way of gathering the information needed to identify compliance obligations under REACH. In this regard, establishing communication standards for the supply chain is an important task for the private sector in order to facilitate the implementation of REACH".
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BOMcheck provides this communication standard. The industry-wide initiative is led by the European trade association COCIR (www.cocir.org) and has been developed by ENVIRON.
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How the web database works
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There are two types of account on www.BOMcheck.net. Companies in the middle of the supply chain will need both accounts:
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* A supplier account which provides access to the BOMcheck expert guidance and declaration tool to generate and maintain substance declarations on the database for the part numbers that you supply to your customers such as Philips, Siemens, Black Box etc.
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* A manufacturer account which provides access to download all substance declarations data from the database, for example, for the part numbers that you buy from your suppliers.
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Suppliers save time and effort because they do not have to keep track of new substance restrictions, declaration requirements and exemptions. Instead, BOMcheck notifies suppliers when they need to take action and provides expert guidance for suppliers to follow.
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Supply chain management tools
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BOMcheck provides unique tools to manage substance declarations across the entire supply chain, including:
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* Mapping tool which maps the supplier part number against the OEM or distributor part number. When the supplier updates the declaration status of their part number this automatically updates the declaration status of all mapped part numbers.
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* Assembly part number tool which links one assembly part number to multiple part numbers from different suppliers. When a supplier updates the declaration status of any of these part numbers, this automatically updates the declaration status for the whole assembly.
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* REACH Article 33 customer report tool calculates the overall concentration of SVHCs in an assembly of part numbers from different suppliers. The tool provides expert guidance to assist manufacturers to take a risk assessment approach to any gaps in supplier part number data.
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About ENVIRON
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A leading international consultancy, ENVIRON partners with clients to assess and manage the potential environmental, energy, and health issues associated with their activities and products. Decision makers rely on us as they strive to reduce or eliminate health and environmental impacts throughout their business life cycles - from acquisition to ongoing operations to restructuring or divestiture. Whether responding to existing challenges or seeking strategies to prevent future liabilities, clients around the world benefit from our blend of universally high technical skills and knowledge of local requirements and practices.
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