Avery Dennison

Grade Summary

ChemScore’s bronze medalist Avery Dennison produces three hazardous chemical – none of them included on the EU’s REACH Candidate List – and no persistent chemicals. Despite this relatively low number, the company is only awarded seven out of…

Avery Dennison produces/uses 3 highly hazardous substances – 3 SIN List chemicals (no PICs and no HHPs) – none are included on the EU’s REACH Candidate List. None of these highly hazardous substances are either banned or severely restricted (no Authorisation List substances, and no POPs). The company produces no persistent chemicals.

Please note that there is no available data for the 45 percent of the company’s production that takes place outside of the EU and US. Lower EU/US production means higher uncertainty with regard to the total production of hazardous chemicals, which will have a negative impact on the company’s score in this category.

Avery Dennison has a method in place to screen and assess the sustainability of its products, but it does not include the intrinsic hazards of ingredients in the screening process. Nor does it exclude substances with toxic properties from its new products. Avery Dennison actively markets safer alternatives on its own website, but not on ChemSec Marketplace. The company has at least one true circular product, process or innovation. Avery Dennison does not use biobased resources. Nor does it source and treat recycled materials in a sustainable way, which is one of the key elements of a circular economy. However, Avery Dennison is actively reducing the hazardous waste it generates.

The American company does not produce only sustainable products. Nor does it have a phase-out strategy for hazardous substances that go beyond regulatory compliance. It shares chemical safety information on its website and follows a credible code of conduct standard. Avery Dennison did not respond to ChemSec’s attempts to communicate around its ChemScore ranking. Nor does it share any information about what kind of chemicals it produces in regions with low regulatory demands for transparency (e.g. Asia). Avery Dennison has a circular economy program with objective and measurable targets.