Strange bedfellows
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JAN / FEB 2024
The term ‘ strange bedfellows ’ has been used since the 15th century when an improbable alliance between people , nations or institutions comes into place . It has been illustrated neatly by two recent stories in our sector .
On 17 November , South African chemicals giant Sasol postponed its AGM at short notice in the face of protests by environmentalists outside . The unusual detail here was that the initial charge came from a financial investor .
Old Mutual Investment Managers ( OMIG ), a 4 % shareholder , had announced that it would vote against resolutions to approve the implementation report of the remuneration strategy and the climate change report , and to re-elect the non-executive director responsible for climate strategy .
OMIG also took the hitherto unprecedented step of writing an open letter urging other shareholders to do likewise . It contended that Sasol ’ s target of cutting emissions by 30 % by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050 “ doesn ’ t align with what we see on the ground ”.
Sasol , which accounts for about 20 % of South Africa ’ s greenhouse gas emissions , came out fighting and reiterated its commitment to its targets . OMIG ’ s stated motivation , the company said , was “ flawed and underpinned by conjecture ”, as it was based on a report by an NGO , Just Share , which contained verified factual inaccuracies . There was plenty more detail , of course , but the striking thing is that an investor took allegations from an NGO against a major chemical firm seriously enough to intervene in this way .
In the same month , an NGO and a company were aligned against regulators after the EU Court of Justice ( CJEU ) dismissed Symrise ’ s request to annul a decision by ECHA board of appeal in 2021 . The case related to a required compliance check using animal tests on the REACH registration dossier for two UV fillers .
This case fell into the grey area of law . Under Article 25 of REACH , manufacturers are required to generate information by non-animal testing whenever possible and to undertake such testing only as a last resort . However , where there are no alternatives , animal tests can still be ordered .
On this basis , ECHA ordered Symrise to test the two chemicals on animals . Symrise appealed , largely on the grounds that the substances are used exclusively as cosmetics ingredients , the ( earlier ) Cosmetics Regulation ban on animal testing applied . After ECHA ’ s Board of Appeal dismissed this , the UK government later used this ruling to justify abandoning its 1998 ban on animal testing for cosmetics .
It has been claimed that the proposed testing programme would need over 5,500 animals , including rats , rabbits and fish , to be force-fed the ingredients for up to three months before being killed and dissected .
Symrise had support from industry bodies and NGOs , notably Cruelty Free Europe ( CFE ) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ( PETA ), who both condemned the decision . PETA ’ s senior science policy manager , Julia Baines , said that the CJEU had ignored “ the purpose of the cosmetics animal testing ban … to ensure that only superior non-animal methods are used to assess the safety of cosmetics ”.
Meanwhile , CFE ’ s director of science and regulatory affairs , Dr Emma Grange , said that the decision renders the EU and UK bans “ virtually meaningless , as this case will set a damaging precedent in toxicity testing for cosmetics ingredients , even if they have been approved as safe for use for many years ”.
Strange bedfellows , indeed . But who would bet against there being more in the years to come ?
Dr Andrew Warmington
EDITOR – SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE
SPECCHEMONLINE
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