Nexans takes positive steps to implement REACH

Thursday, Feb 02, 2012

The Registration Evaluation Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) is a European Union regulation which entered into force on 1 June 2007.

By requiring producers and importers to submit information on chemical substances produced in or imported to the EU market in quantities above 1 tonne per year, it streamlines the former legislative framework on chemicals so as to improve the protection of human health and the environment.

In short, REACH makes industry directly responsible for assessing and managing the risks posed by chemicals and providing safety information to their users.

The impact of REACH on Nexans

As the world’s leading cable producer, Nexans is impacted by REACH in various ways:

First, all of our market segments are affected by this regulation: from telecommunications and energy to aeronautics, airports, automotives, railways, buildings, oil & gas, petrochemicals, shipbuilding and material handling, etc. Its ramifications go far beyond the construction industry, and, in fact, touch every aspect of the cable business, including packaging.

Secondly, it involves all of our management activities, and that includes purchasing, contracting, quality control, marketing and sales, communications, insurance and even the legal department.

Finally, REACH requires that Nexans take extended responsibilities along its entire supply chain: from the importing of raw and primary materials that we use ourselves, through to manufacturing and distribution. At the end of this process Nexans has to keep downstream users and customers fully informed, including waste collectors and recyclers (especially when retrieved substances are reincorporated into new products).

REACH the milestones

According to the volume purchased and to the potential impact of the product on health and the environment, all substances used by Nexans have to be registered with a newly created agency, the ECHA (European Chemical Agency).  For example, substances over 1000t/year, or deemed as CMR (Carcinogenic Mutagen Resistant) have to be registered within a complete homologation file before 30 November 2010. 

However, in order to give time to companies for registration, all substances will be accepted for use, provided they have been pre-registered (simple declaration to the ECHA) before 1 December 2008. 

A first list (Candidate List) of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) was published on 28 October 2008, and will be updated regularly − for the first time: end of 2008/beginning of 2009.  If these products are used in some of our cables, we will have to inform our customers.

What Nexans is doing to promote REACH

In order to fulfill the requirements created by REACH, Nexans has put in place a complete organization. The Nexans REACH team includes several full-time persons at corporate level, supported by Information Services, Senior Managers and Legal Advisors. In the countries, REACH contacts (one for each Legal Entity with their own locally-organized teams in every plant) and country representatives make sure that the REACH requirements are fully understood by the whole organization. They are also in charge of gathering and processing the data on raw materials used in our finished products. Finally, our sales administrators in Europe are ensuring proper communication with our customers.

The pre-registration and registration of chemical substances, which began in 2008, will occupy the coming decade (until 2018). However, at the same time, a number of initiatives throughout the supply chain are aimed at assuring conformity and compliance (even in non-EU countries), checking our own industrial processes, and providing important information to our customers, so that we can ensure that all Nexans cable products and solutions meet the requirements set by REACH.

1. REACH and Purchasing

To make a safe product, we need to make sure that all of the chemical substances used in our products are compliant with REACH regulations. We have been sending out questionnaires to our suppliers since March 2008 about primary materials, while asking them to strictly conform to the rules.

Today, only a few hazardous substances on the Candidate List will have an impact on the cable industry. Nevertheless, all hazardous substances on the List are systematically identified from the moment that raw materials are purchased, and are flagged all the way through to the finished product. The accumulated information is then fed into a special database which will serve as a resource further down the supply chain. It is obvious that the list of hazardous substances is going to continue to evolve, and that is why constant vigilance is important. We also need to take into account how products are going to be used and installed. In some countries, cables are often handled with bare hands, and we take this into consideration. After our initial survey, we provide important feedback to suppliers, so that they can take steps to eliminate hazardous substances in their own supply chain and production.

2. REACH and Manufacturing

Simultaneously with the above, Nexans is constantly scrutinizing its own products and processes internally. We check to see that everything we produce will protect people and the environment. Nexans is already in the process of eliminating Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) included in the Candidate List from our production, if any are present. Suppressing dangerous chemicals and substituting them with safe ones begins at home, and on our own production lines, and is a constant goal of all Nexans teams. And this applies to all materials used in wires, compounds, insulations, cables, accessories and equipment.

3. REACH and Sales

As we move down the supply chain, the customer comes clearly into focus, including the public-at-large, service providers and industrial entities, like Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). This is where our worldwide sales force becomes a key interface, providing customers with timely and accurate information and advice about all substances contained in our products.

Drawing on the vast database already created, we can provide a mandatory information sheet to our customers. If Nexans products contain more than 0.1% of a SVHC on the Candidate List, the sales force is able to inform the customer immediately. These cables will be regularly updated (i.e. redesigned) to keep pace with future industrial evolution. Also, if a customer queries us about our products, we can from now on provide an answer within 45 days on the compliance of our products to REACH standards.

Totally transparent, the REACH customer database allows the customer’s Purchasing Department to have the information they need to meet their own objectives and to make the right buying decisions. REACH compliance thus becomes a shared goal and common responsibility. 

Our prime objective: REACHING 100% compliance

With a clear view of all issues and tasks, Nexans is right on target to meet major REACH milestones. Not only have we worked for over a year to be compliant, ourselves; but we are ready to answer all of your questions, and resolve your problems so that you can be fully compliant, as well. Bear in mind that among the tens of thousands of different kinds of cable that we manufacture, only a few are concerned today by mandatory information about SVHCs on the Candidate List, and we are working to limit them to the lowest level possible.

The continuous update of raw materials purchased by our plants, a constant overview of our own production materials and processes, and an ongoing two-way dialogue with our suppliers and customers assure that all Nexans products can be bought in total confidence. By paying close attention to regulatory detail under REACH on your behalf, our aim is nothing less than providing 100% compliant products to our customers.

For more information, please contact your local Nexans Sales Representative.

Source: Nexans