Forebyggende miljøvern:

Innochem

The new EU chemicals legislation (REACH), aimed at reducing damage from exposure to chemicals, will pose a great challenge to European Industry. Innochem aims at establishing new knowledge and systems in order to:

• help Norwegian Industry to fulfill the REACH obligations;
• develop new products that will increase the competitive strength of the partner companies;
• minimise products' total environmental impact in a life cycle perspective.

The Innochem project plan includes the following research activities:

• Develop and implement a system for assessment and documentation according to the REACH regulation; 
• Integrate the demands from REACH and Life cycle oriented methods to cover the next generation of chemical policy (EU:Integrated Product Policy);
• Strategic assessment of existing products from Jotun and HÅG in the context of the REACH regulations;
• Implement the REACH tools and methods in the product development processes of Jotun and HÅG, as a necessary basis for development of new chemical preparations and articles, that satisfy the REACH regulation.

Innochem is a Business Innovation Arena project financed by the Norwegian Research Council. The project is owned by paint and varnish manufacturer Jotun, with office chair manufacturer HÅG (SBS Business Seating) as a partner. The research is being conducted by Jotun, Ostfold Research and NIVA (Norwegian Institute for Water Research). The two PhDs will be performed in collaboration with the universities in Aalborg and Oslo.

Presentation June 2009 at the SETAC Annual Meeting