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Chemical Watch Survey Reveals Impact of COVID-19 on Chemical Regulatory Community

Workloads for chemicals compliance and product safety professionals are increasing as a result of responses to the Covid-19 crisis, according to the results of a survey conducted by Chemical Watch.

The results, published in a free report ‘Evaluating the impact of Covid-19 on the chemicals management community’, also found that many in the chemicals regulatory community expect schedules for new laws to stay on track.

Launched at the beginning of May, some 450 people responded to the survey – including those working for industry, regulators, NGOs and academia. While most were based in Europe, North America and Asia, all geographic regions were represented.

Emma Chynoweth, chief customer officer of Chemical Watch says: “Over the past two months we have been talking to our community about the impacts of Covid-19 on their work, and what their outlook is for the coming months. The information we have been gathering indicates that many are facing significant challenges. To get a deeper understanding of the impacts of the coronavirus we decided to run this ‘snapshot’ survey.”

Workload increases

Many respondents (40%) reported that their regulatory workloads have increased – twice as many as have seen work decrease. And it’s a trend that looks set to continue, with 48% expecting their workload to increase further in the next three months. 

Looking at the survey responses, the increase is likely to be driven by several factors: 

  • Over half of businesses responding (55%) are making new products in response to the coronavirus (mostly sanitisers and disinfectants, as well as masks and medical equipment and their components). More companies are planning to pivot production;
  • As a result, many compliance departments are working hard to ensure their organisations meet the regulatory requirements of these new product lines;
  • Several respondents (8%) have been placed on temporary leave, or had their hours reduced (6%), and as a consequence the workload for others has increased; and
  • Around 80% of respondents are now working from home, and many say that, as such, work has become more challenging because communication with colleagues can take longer.

Another complicating factor for workload, is the fact that every country has imposed different restrictions and rules in response to coronavirus, making it difficult for global companies to sustain regulatory compliance.

Regulators staying on track

Nearly 40 individuals from governments, regulatory authorities and agencies also provided their views. Most respondents from the regulatory community are working to keep the pace of chemical regulation ticking over, in spite of the challenges presented by the pandemic. 

Three-fifths of those responding are confident that regulatory schedules will remain largely on schedule – with some minor delays. A further 13% don’t anticipate any delays, but the same percentage predict significant delays, while10% admit schedules have already slipped.

NGO worried about impacts

Approximately two-thirds of 30 NGO and academic responses were concerned by the potential for Covid-19 activity to delay regulatory schedules, lessen enforcement, and see chemicals management deprioritised by business and government. Roughly a quarter to a third were neutral on these questions. Other concerns cited by NGOs about actions to combat the virus centred on the increased use of chemicals with little knowledge about safe use, unregulated products, and waste generation, as more disposable plastic products, including medical products and PPE were used.

Geographic and sector analysis

Another interesting outcome of the survey is that – by 13-14 percentage points – Asian companies appear to be more optimistic about their business outlook than North American or European firms. They are also more confident about their supply chains, and are adapting production to meet the Covid-19 challenge.  

Supply chain data is interesting too. As mentioned, Asian companies are more confident in their supply chains compared to North American or European companies. Yet, the survey shows their supply chains are currently the most disrupted. 

The previous experience of several Asian countries with viral respiratory syndromes, such as Sars and Mers, and the provisions in place in many countries in the region, as well as China’s emergence from the original outbreak of Covid-19, are all probably having a positive impact on business confidence in the region.

Lastly, many businesses reported a mixed picture to the survey, with some parts growing in response to the pandemic, and others being hit. Only the aerospace and automotive sectors are clearly struggling in the current climate. And only the cleaning sector is buoyant.

Continued surveying

To build up a picture of Covid-19 related trends, specific to the chemical regulatory, compliance and product stewardship community, Chemical Watch is repeating the survey from 1-7 June, and for the first week of each month for the foreseeable future. Click here to complete it.

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