Overview
Our Chemicals and Plastics Practice advises companies and other organisations on the full gamut of issues related to compliance with EU/EEA/UK chemical and plastics laws, including:
Compliance with EU/EEA/UK chemical and plastics law, including:
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- EU REACH and equivalent (e.g., UK, Turkey, South Korea, Ukraine, Brazil)
- GHS and CLP regulation and equivalent
- REACH registrations (including SIDs and Substance sameness)
- Data sharing and collection (e.g., EU REACH and equivalent, consortia, LOAs)
- Testing proposals, dossier, and substance evaluations
- SVHC/Candidate listing, prioritisation, Annex XIV Inclusion, authorisation applications and renewals, REACH restriction, and Annex XVII inclusion
- Classification, labelling, and SDSs
Compliance with related law, including:
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- Waste, emissions, and pollution law (including EU Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), single use plastics, microplastics, EU Industrial Emissions Directive and equivalent, Waste Framework and equivalent, ROHS/WEEE and equivalent, and Basel Convention)
- Packaging law (including food contact/pharmaceutical materials)
- Cosmetic products regulation and equivalent
- Plant protection products regulation and equivalent
- Fertilising products regulation and equivalent
- Biocidal products regulation and equivalent
- Pharmaceutical and medicinal products law
- Medical device law
- Food, consumer products, textiles, toys, detergents, and household cleaning
- PIC and POP substances (including Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions)
Problematic chemicals and plastic materials, including:
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- Substances of Concern (REACH/ESPR/etc), SVHCs, priority substances, REACH Annex XVII substances, Annex XIV substances, Hazardous substances, CMRs, PBT/vPvBs, PMT/vPvMs, endocrine disruptors, sensitisers, PSLTs, PFAS, POPs, etc.
- Substances of Concern (REACH/ESPR/etc), SVHCs, priority substances, REACH Annex XVII substances, Annex XIV substances, Hazardous substances, CMRs, PBT/vPvBs, PMT/vPvMs, endocrine disruptors, sensitisers, PSLTs, PFAS, POPs, etc.
Sustainability, waste, recycling, circular economy, green chemistry, and transition to new chemistries, including:
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- Green deal, green transition, CSS, plastic strategy, and SSbD
- Chemical emissions and pollution (including air and water, BATs/BREFs, etc.)
- Extended producer responsibility/liability and criminal liability
- Mechanical and chemical recycling
- Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR)
Our Practice Areas:
Our Chemicals (including Plastics) Practice advises companies selling some of the most complex, innovative, and highly regulated chemical products in the world. We counsel clients on how to get products-to-market, and the legal and regulatory frameworks impacting their products. We monitor for upcoming legal instruments, and changes in general trends, which may impact clients’ products. And we assist clients in making sure their products are fully compliant with the ever more complex, and more-quickly evolving, regulatory regimes – in a multitude of different jurisdictions.
Where clients face political, legal or financial pressures to move to other environmentally-friendly, climate-friendly, zero-pollution credentials, circular alternatives – we assist in formulating strategies and implementing those to ensure considered and careful transition compliant with relevant laws and minimizing concerns as regards Competition and Antitrust concerns.
Where EU and other authorities take steps to ban or prohibit chemicals, or make assertions regarding their hazardous properties or risks – we assist with chemical defence and advocacy. Where national Enforcement Authorities take actions against companies and seek to investigate or impose penalties, we assist. Where clients habour concerns regarding the supply of critical minerals or raw materials, we counsel clients on how to limit and mitigate risk and take other action where necessary.
Our Chemicals and Plastics Practice litigates and advocates for clients in a plethora of legal, political, administrative and other fora – particularly on chemical defence issues - including:
- Administrative Bodies – such as European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Board of Appeal (BOA)
- Before the Courts (EU, Belgian, EFTA EEA, UK, and other European Courts)
- Ombudsman
- Alternative Dispute Resolution bodies
A number of our lawyers have extensive experience of advocating and litigating for our clients’ chemical products in a multitude of different legal fora across the EU and Europe (including EU Courts, EU Boards of Appeal, Arbitration and Mediation Bodies, EFTA Court, National EU Member State Courts, UK Courts, and EEA EFTA Courts).
One of our lawyers is a former Legal Member of the ECHA Board of Appeal (ECHA BOA).
Our Chemicals and Plastics) Practice advises on:
- Supply chain structuring and all commercial aspects, e.g., toll manufacturing agreements, JVs, distribution agreements, R&D agreements, commercialization contracts, supply agreements, consortia agreements, and LOAs.
- Merger and acquisition issues such as:
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- Compliance of target assets and target companies with chemical and related law; and
- Audits and investigations into target assets and target companies to determine non-compliance risks.
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- Investment decisions relating to assets and target companies within the chemical and downstream industries, including green chemistry and regulatory trends.
- Exposure to risk of insured, insurers, re-insurers and underwriters vis-à-vis assets and companies within the chemical industry, in particular, new and emerging risks, chemicals of concern, and contaminants in consumer and end products (e.g., PFAS, cocktail effects, OSOA, degradation products, endocrine disruptors, nanomaterials).
- Green Procurement issues, including:
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- Tenders and Tendering processes;
- Sustainability and Green Chemistry provisions and requirements; and
- Due Diligence & verification procedures.
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Our Chemicals and Plastics) Practice advises on, amongst other things on all areas regarding patent and trademark prosecution and IP litigation. When clients develop new generation chemical and downstream products, we assist in securing patent and trademark protection in the EU, US and elsewhere. This includes prosecuting patent applications and securing trademark registrations. Where there are concerns regarding infringement of patents and other types of IP rights, we advocate and litigate for clients and support in dispute resolution.
Our Chemicals and Plastics Practice advises on, amongst other things:
- International growth and expansion
- Access to foreign and overseas markets (e.g., European, U.S., China)
- Supply chain structuring
- Customs and excise
- Obstacles to trade
- Investigations
- Antidumping measures
- Trade sanctions
- Trade remedies
Decision-making within the EU Institutions and bodies can be complex and seemingly opaque. Our Government Affairs and EU Decision-Making Practice assists clients in understanding the processes and procedures, and engaging with those, at every level. Our clients rely not merely on our knowledge, but our first-hand experience and expertise of the people and bodies themselves.
Our Chemicals and Plastics Practice assists clients with:
- Strategic plans to impact outcomes
- Identifying openings for successful engagement at the EU and national levels
- Assessing early and late-stage risks, and policies to limit impacts
- Maximizing opportunities to influence and direct decision-making
- Data collection and effective communication tools
- Educating and training government affairs and business teams
- Devising multifaceted relations initiatives that accommodate and align business timelines
Like the wider Crowell Government Affairs Practice that we are a part of, we provide:- Experience where it counts, and at every step;
- Quick and responsive advocacy – recognizing that legislative and regulatory advocacy is time sensitive; and
- Cross-disciplinary collaboration across the policy and project lifecycle.
We regularly work with members of the firm’s energy, environmental, financial services, government contracts, health care, infrastructure, intellectual property, international trade, privacy and cybersecurity, and tax practices. When agency audits, law-enforcement inquiries, or investigations arise, we collaborate with Crowell’s experienced white collar and regulatory enforcement practices to help clients respond to queries, manage ongoing oversight, prepare for testimony before relevant committees and handle media relations.
Chemicals
- Industrial and specialist
- Organic and inorganic
- Mono-constituents, Multi-constituents, UVCBs
- Additives, Stabilisers, Impurities
- Paints, Coatings, andSolvents
- Intermediates and catalysts
- Food and packaging (including NIAS)
- Cosmetics and personal Care
- Flagrance and flavorings
- Pharmaceuticals and medicinal products
- Veterinary and animal care
- Plant protection products (including Pesticides, Fertilizers, GMO, and Plant Variety)
- Detergents and household cleaning products
- Biocides
- Pest control
- F-Gases
- Enzymes
- Preservatives
- Nanomaterials
- Rare earths and critical raw materials
- Extended producer responsibility and liability
- Criminal liability
Plastics
- Commodity and specialist
- Packaging (including medicinal and pharmaceutical contact, food contact, etc)
- Monomers and starting materials (including additives, stabilisers, and colorants)
- Production (including resin, pellets, granules, flakes, andPowders)
- Formulation, extrusion, and injection molding (including actives, and masterbatch)
- Polymeric substances and polymeric materials
- Bioplastics
- Microplastics
- Single use plastics
- Consumer and end products
- Plastic waste and littering
- Plastic recovery and circular economy (recyclers, converters, and producers)
- Mechanical and chemical recycling
- Green transition and feedstocks (e.g., virgin vs. recycled materials)
- Plastic emissions and pollution (including degradation products)
- Energy-from-waste
- Extended producer responsibility and liability
- Criminal liability
Petrochemicals
- Industrial and specialist
- Oil and gas
- Fuels and lubricants
- Biomass and biofuels
Metals
- Ferrous and non-ferrous
- Precious metals
- Critical raw materials
- MCS, UVCBs, and special mixtures
- Biocidal products
- Mining, recovery, and circular economy
- Heavy metals
- Use in end products (e.g., consumer, industrial, automotive, aviation)
Other materials and products
- Wood
- Glass, rubber, and PVC
- Coatings, paints, and solvents
- Adhesive and inks
- Cosmetics and personal care
- Apparel and fashion (textiles, including leather, fur, and cotton)
- Construction (e.g., aggregate, cement, limestone)
- Batteries
- Electrical and electronic equipment
- Pharmaceuticals and medicinal products
- Medical devices
- Food and feed
- Tobacco, vape, and related products
- Water treatment
