International workshop
on hazardous substances
within the life cycle of electronic and electrical products
Scope, objectives and expected outcome
(Draft 5 May 2010)
The international workshop derives from resolution II/4 of the second International
Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM2) held in May 2009 in Geneva organized
under the auspices of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management
(SAICM). It will address the issue of the fate and sound management of chemicals during
the life-cycle of electrical and electronic equipment and products (EEE) along the supply
chain. 1
The organizing partners for this workshop are the IOMC organizations, lead by UNIDO,
and the Secretariats of the Basel and Stockholm Conventions. The workshop is now
tentatively scheduled to take place in February 2011.
The main objective of the international workshop is to contribute to international and
national efforts aimed at understanding and reducing the impacts of the hazardous
chemicals content of electrical and electronic equipment during their life cycle along the
supply chain, on human health and the environment while seizing opportunities to exploit
employment creation, poverty alleviation and entrepreneurship potentials that may arise.
The working group established under ICCM2 on e-waste as an emerging policy issue
identified the following priority issues to be addressed in the context of SAICM:
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Reduction and eventual phase out of restricted or hazardous substances in EEE
and waste electrical and electronic equipment (e-waste).
Information needs about hazardous substances in EEE and e-waste along the
product chain in their life cycle.
Development of technical guidance and capacity-building.
Governance.
Awareness-raising and education.
Additionally, four regional meetings were organized by SAICM during 2009 and 2010 in
Africa, Asia-Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean
which discussed the issue of the hazardous substances in EEE and provided clarification
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This derives from SAICM strategic objectives 13, 14, 15 and 18 respectively in the Overarching
Policy Strategy as well as the Global Plan of Action. Strategic objective (SO) 13 states the 2020 goals of
SAICM on sound management of chemicals throughout their life-cycle; SO 14 emphasizes the need to
minimize risks to human health and the environment as well as to vulnerable groups subject to exposure to
toxic chemicals throughout the life cycle of chemicals; SO 15 aims at ensuring that information on chemicals
throughout their life cycle including where appropriate, chemicals in products, is available, accessible, user
friendly, adequate and appropriate to the needs of all stakeholders; while SO 18 aims at preventing illegal
international traffic in toxic, hazardous, banned and severely restricted chemicals, including products
incorporating these chemicals, mixtures and compounds and wastes.
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about country needs in these Regions and expectations about the outcome of the
international workshop. A lot of emphasis was placed on the issue of green design, the
phasing-out, where feasible, of harmful substances in EEE, on the need to protect workers'
health all throughout the life cycle of EEE and the demand for capacity-building and
institutional strengthening.
The workshop will provide an interactive forum for discussion on the above issues
covering the life cycle approach that underpins SAICM work and will also seek synergies
among the Basel Convention, the Stockholm Convention, SAICM and other chemical and
waste programmes, agreements or initiatives.
General objectives :
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Offer a platform to key public and private stakeholders, including academia, to
present their work, perspectives and solutions;
Promote concrete programmatic synergies among the chemicals and waste
conventions and programmes;
Identify where action is required, at the international and national level, to support,
complement, enhance or consolidate existing efforts towards the sound
management of harmful chemicals in EEE; and
Develop recommendations for consideration by the Open-ended Working Group of
SAICM in 2011 and by ICCM3 in 2012.
Specific objectives :
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To collate and then evaluate existing knowledge and stimulate robust discussions
of actions on upstream issues, such as progress made, challenges and future
direction in the elimination of hazardous substances in EEE, especially through
green chemistry;
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To review the needs for capacity-building and technology transfer regarding the
sound management of chemicals in EEE, along the supply chain with emphasis on
the needs of countries with economy in transition and developing countries;
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To identify where cooperation could be enhanced with the Basel and Stockholm
Conventions and other institutions within UNEP as well as with the private sector,
academia and the civil society in addressing the issues identified;
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To provide a road map for possible global action regarding green chemistry,
including elimination and substitution of toxic substances ; information exchange on
chemicals in electrical and electronic equipment and e-waste, recycling and
disposal of the toxic substances as contained in EEE, for consideration by
SAICM/ICCM3, the IOMC participating organizations and the chemicals and waste
conventions and programmes, other initiatives including the future mercury
convention.
The success of the outcome of the workshop depends on the active participation of the
key stakeholders, governments, intergovernmental bodies, multilateral environmental
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agreements, industry, non-governmental organization, research and academia. The
workshop is viewed by a large number of governments as a tangible and highly relevant
example of the enhancement of the synergies process. Representatives of more than 16O
countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America and the
Caribbean have expressed strong interest in the workshop.
Adequate financial resources are required urgently to ensure as wide a participation as
possible to meet the goals of the workshop that is to formulate concrete recommendations
and solutions to reduce the harmful effects of chemicals in EEE and to build a global
response, including the reinforcement of cooperation among the Basel Convention, the
Stockholm Convention and SAICM, conducive to achieving the aim of reducing harmful
substances in such products and to ensuring their environmentally sound management.
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