Johnson Matthey

Johnson Matthey is a specialty chemicals company that manufactures catalysts, pharmaceutical materials and pollution control systems. The company also refines platinum, gold and silver, and produces colour and coating materials for the glass, ceramics, tile, plastics, paint, ink and construction industries. Johnson Matthey operates around the world.

Total score

20 / 48

Grade Summary

Johnson Matthey produces 12 highly hazardous chemicals. Compared to some of the other companies in the ranking that might seem good, but it is still a portfolio full of problematic substances. On a positive note, 69 percent of…

Product Portfolio

6 / 18

Johnson Matthey produces/uses 12 highly hazardous substances – 11 SIN List chemicals, 2 PICs, and 1 HHP – 5 of which are included on the EU’s REACH Candidate List. 1 of these highly hazardous substances is either banned or severely restricted, with set dates when production needs to cease (1 Authorisation List substances, and no POPs). The company produces no persistent chemicals.

Please note that there is no available data for the 31 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.

Development of Safer Chemicals

6 / 12

Johnson Matthey 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. Johnson Matthey does not actively market safer alternatives on its own website or on ChemSec Marketplace. The company has at least one true circular product, process or innovation. Johnson Matthey does not use bio-based resources. Nor does it source or treat recycled materials in a sustainable way, which is one of the key elements of a circular economy. Johnson Matthey is actively reducing the hazardous waste it generates.

Management & Transparency

2 / 12

The British 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. It does not share chemical safety information on its website. However, it is following a credible code of conduct standard. Johnson Matthey responded to ChemSec’s attempts to communicate around its ChemScore ranking. However, the company does not share any information about what kind of chemicals it produces in regions with low regulatory demands for transparency (e.g. Asia). Johnson Matthey does not have a circular economy program in place, thus lacking objective and measurable circular economy targets.