Evonik

Grade Summary

Evonik has a very large production of hazardous chemicals and data tells us that it is producing 50 highly hazardous chemicals this year, including three persistent chemicals, which leaves the company without a single point in the first…

Evonik produces/uses 50 highly hazardous substances –46 SIN List chemicals, 5 PICs, and 8 HHPs) – 12 of which are included on the EU’s REACH Candidate List. 3 of these highly hazardous substances are either banned or severely restricted, with set dates when production needs to cease (3 Authorisation List substances, and no POPs). The company produces 3 persistent chemicals. Persistent chemicals are particularly problematic, since they do not break down, but instead accumulate in humans and the environment. Because of this, persistent chemicals should be of extra concern for investors; substances that are not considered a problem today could become huge liabilities in the future.

Please note that there is no available data for the 52 % 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.

Evonik Industries has a method in place to screen and assess the sustainability of its products and includes the intrinsic hazards of ingredients in the screening process. It does not, however, exclude substances with toxic properties from its new products. Evonik Industries actively markets safer alternatives on its own website, but not on ChemSec Marketplace. The company has at least one product, process or innovation that enables production of circular products. Evonik Industries uses bio-based resources without occupying extra land or in competition with food production. It does not source and treat recycled materials in a sustainable way, which is one of the key elements of a circular economy. Evonik Industries is actively reducing the hazardous waste it generates.

The German company does not produce only sustainable products, and it does not have a timed phase-out strategy for hazardous substances that go beyond regulatory compliance. However, it shares chemical safety information on its website and is following a credible code of conduct standard. Evonik Industries responded to ChemSec’s attempts to communicate around its ChemScore ranking, but it does not share any information about what kind of chemicals it produces in regions with low regulatory demands for transparency (e.g. Asia). Evonik Industries does have a circular economy program in place, and it does have objective and measurable circular economy targets.