In this episode I am joined by Libby Sommer, an independent consultant working on sustainability in the apparel industry.

Libby and I discuss:

• Libby’s background and early career
• Her work on sustainability and life cycle assessments in the apparel industry
• Working with start-ups
• Drivers of innovation
• How sustainability focus areas have evolved over the years
• The environmental and human costs of textile waste
• Biodegradation and recycling of textiles
• Reducing and mitigating environmental emissions
• The Association for the Advancement of Alternatives Assessment (A4)
• A4’s links with SETAC and the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) initiative

Libby’s website: Libby Sommer

Biomimicry Institute Design4Transformation initiative: Resources

Association for the Advancement of Alternatives Assessment (A4) website: Home — Safer Alternatives

In this episode I share an article discussing the issue of environmental persistence, and why this is fast becoming a top priority that producers of chemical products need to address. I also share some insights on what has been happening since the article was published.

Read the original article: Why environmental persistence should be a top priority for safe and sustainable products — Embark Chemical Consulting

On the latest developments:

ECHA guidance on the new CLP hazards: Guidance on the Application of the CLP Criteria - Part 4/5: Environmental hazards and additional hazards

Recording of SETAC topical discussion on extreme persistence: Addressing Extreme Persistence – Identification, Behavior and Management of “Forever Chemicals” Beyond PFAS on Vimeo

ECETOC workshop on OECD 309 surface water biodegradation test: Overcoming challenges and advancing (bio)degradation guidelines: OECD TG309 revisited - ECETOC

SETAC Vienna conference (11 – 15 May 2025): SETAC Europe 35th Annual Meeting

Further information:

Download the Persistence Assessment Tool: Persistence Assessment Tool (PAT) | Industry insights | News and insights | Ricardo

Read the Cefic-LRI ECO52 project reports: ECO52 – Bioavailability, complex substances and overall persistence (BCOP): three themes to deliver a step-change in persistence assessments – Cefic-Lri

Learn about the SETAC Persistence Science Interest Group: Announcing the New Persistence Science Interest Group

In this episode I am joined by Peter Fisk, founder of Green Chemical Design Ltd, and formerly of Peter Fisk Associates (now Vitis Regulatory).

Peter talks about his extensive career journey, and gives an honest appraisal of the evolution and current state of chemicals management in Europe.

Our discussion covers a lot of ground, including:

• Peter's early career and interests as a scientist
• Making the switch to consultancy and starting a business
• The advent of the REACH regulation and the transformation of chemicals management in Europe
• How interactions between regulators and industry have changed over time
• Unifying qualities of regulatory scientists
• Challenges with the implementation of REACH: on read-across, QSARs, testing costs, bureaucracy, and the speed of regulatory processes
• Hazard assessment vs risk assessment
• REACH for polymers
• Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD)
• The challenge of assessing complex substances (UVCBs) and the progress made by the oil industry
• Opportunities and challenges with green chemistry and chemical substitution
• The potential of Hansen Solubility Parameters as a tool to evaluate chemical hazards
• Remembering Steve Robertson
• Ethical concerns with fish testing and regulatory box-ticking
• Praise for the REACH registered substances database
• The extreme persistence of PFAS and their impact on other chemistries

Peter has accrued a huge amount of knowledge and wisdom during his career. If you're interested in learning from his experience, this one is not to be missed!

Green Chemical Design - Together we can do even better chemistry

In Memoriam: Stephen (Steve) Michael Robertson (1949–2023)

In this episode I am joined by Jen Novakovic from The Eco Well. Jen is as an influencer and podcaster in the cosmetics space. She focuses in particular on issues of science communication and misinformation.

Our conversation covers:

• Jen's journey and work on science communication in the cosmetics sector
• What is misinformation, and why is it a problem?
• The role of social media and human biases
• The need for effective science communication
• Misinformation on UV filters, coral bleaching and climate change
• Potential barriers to effective science communication
• The problem with 'Free From' claims, and other perverse incentives
• Experiences on different social media platforms
• Trust in science, institutional defensiveness, and taking responsibility
• The cost of conferences, and Jen's work on e-summits

Find out more about Jen's work on the Eco Well website: The Eco Well

My conversation with Jen on the Eco Well podcast: Biodegradation and Persistence with Chris Hughes — The Eco Well

The Sustainable Beauty E-Summit (23rd February) event page: Sustainable Beauty E-Summit — The Eco Well

In this episode I speak with Jen Vanderhoven, Chief Operating Officer of the Bio-based and Biodegradable Industry Association (BBIA) in the UK. The BBIA is in place to champion the industrial bioeconomy in the UK, and to reduce our reliance on fossil resources to create a sustainable circular economy.

Jen has been making real waves in her role at the BBIA. We have a fascinating conversation covering:

• What is the bio-economy? Why is it needed?
• The history of the BBIA, Jen’s role, and the evolution of the organisation
• The importance of certifications, standards and life cycle assessments
• The case for plastic as a material
• Bringing together different sectors and stakeholders under one roof
• The benefits of collaboration and the challenges of scaling-up
• How the bio-economy could transform supply chains and regional economies
• The UK vision for engineering biology
• Policy barriers and creating a supportive environment for the sector
• The REACH regulation and the implications of Brexit
• The BBIA’s new regulatory network (BB-REG-NET)

BBIA website: Home - BBIA

BB-REG-NET website: BB-REG-NET - Sustainable Chemicals and Materials

In this episode I am joined by Paul Thomas, founder of Kreatis, a company that specialises in developing in silico tools for predicting chemical properties and hazard endpoints.

Join us for an interesting conversation covering:

• Paul’s early career and experiences with building a company
• Quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) models for predicting chemical properties
• The role of QSARs for reducing animal testing
• The role of QSARs in the new approach methodologies (NAMs) discussion
• The new QSAR Assessment Framework (QAF) and validating predictions for regulatory use
• Publicly available chemical databases and their importance for QSAR development
• Innovation in QSARs, and balancing protecting commercial interests with the need for transparency

More information about Kreatis: KREATiS - Experts in Computational (Eco)Toxicology

The QSAR Assessment Framework: (Q)SAR Assessment Framework: Guidance for the regulatory assessment of (Quantitative) Structure Activity Relationship models and predictions | OECD

Correction:

In this episode, Paul and I discussed the concept of FAIR data, in which I identify the ‘F’ term as ‘freely available’. The correct term is 'findable' (FAIR stands for Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable). More information on the FAIR principles can be found here: https://www.go-fair.org/fair-principles/

In this episode I am joined by Claire Walker, Head of Global Regulations and Product Safety at bio-economy startup Holiferm. We discuss Clare’s career journey and her role at Holiferm, where the process of fermentation is being harnessed to produce biosurfactants to replace fossil-derived ingredients across a wide range of products.

We also discuss Clare’s work in mammalian toxicology and regulatory compliance, the contrast between working in a startup vs a multinational corporation, the regulatory challenges facing start-ups in the bioeconomy, animal testing and the friction between the EU cosmetic products and REACH regulations, the new hazards under EU CLP, evolving regulatory processes and the need for dialogue, and other topics.

Holiferm website: holiferm.com

Welcome to the first episode of the Chemical Journeys podcast.

The issue of chemicals in the environment is a story.

A story that brings together both the natural and social sciences. A story about Earth, humanity, and individual journeys.

Hear about scientific and policy developments around chemicals in the environment and their impact on the chemicals sector and society as a whole, and look to what the future might hold.

Sign up to the Embark newsletter at www.embarkchemical.com

References:
Building Trust and Momentum on the Road to a Safe and Sustainable Chemicals Sector