Join CHEM Trust and HEAL at a one-day conference in Brussels
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29 September 2025, 8:30am - 5:30pm
Residence Palace - Polak room, Brussels
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2025 is an important year for the future of the EU’s chemicals policy.
Governments and the European Commission are under pressure to stop chemical pollution, which has got out of control, and to respond to a chemical sector facing a new energy and economic landscape.
REACH needs to be updated to become simpler in generating information, faster in controlling the most harmful chemicals and bolder in protecting people’s health and nature. This will help prevent future scandals such as the PFAS pollution crisis.
After years of preparation, the Commission will finally propose a revision of REACH in the last quarter of 2025. This will be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to update the EU’s chemical safety policy to close the health and environmental protection gap and promote greater innovation for a more resilient economy.
Join CHEM Trust and HEAL for a one-day conference in Brussels on 29th September 2025, to discuss the challenges and opportunities of modernising the EU’s chemical safety rules with decision-makers, citizen organisations, businesses, and experts.
Opening remarks will be delivered by Jessika Roswall, Environment Commissioner, European Commission. The keynote speech will be given by Dr. Marike Kolossa-Gehring, coordinator of HBM4EU and Head of Toxicology, health-related environmental monitoring at the German Environment Agency.
Learn more about all the speakers here
Register free of charge before 16 September 2025 (limited room capacity).
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Programme
Learn more about all the speakers here
8:30 Welcome coffee
Welcome refreshments provided on the patio
9:15 Welcome
- Genon Jensen, Executive Director of HEAL
- Dr. Michael Warhurst, Executive Director of CHEM Trust
9:30 Opening remarks
- Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, European Commission
9:45 Keynote speech
- Dr. Marike Kolossa-Gehring, Coordinator of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative, HBM4EU, and Head of Toxicology and Health-Related Environmental Monitoring at UBA, the German Environment Agency
10:00 Panel 1 | A chemicals framework fit for the future
- Kristin Schreiber, Director for Chemicals, Bioeconomy and Retail, Directorate General for Internal Market, European Commission
- Marco Mensink, Director General of Cefic, European Chemical Industry Council
- Patrick ten Brink, Secretary General of the EEB, European Environmental Bureau
- Esther Lynch, Secretary General of ETUC, European Trade-Union Confederation
- Jutta Paulus, Member of the European Parliament in the Greens/EFA, Germany
- Dr. Oliver Eberhardt, Head of Unit, German Federal Ministry for the Environment
Moderated by Sue Saville, journalist specialising in health
11:30 Coffee break
Refreshments and small snacks provided on the patio
12:00 Panel 2 | REACH revision - closing the protection gap
Moderated by Stefan Scheuer, Chief EU Policy Advocate, CHEM Trust
13:15 Lunch
Lunch provided on the patio
14:15 Deep-dives | 3 parallel sessions on the REACH revision
Discussions in 3 break-out groups.
- Extension of the fast-track restriction procedure
Facilitator: Esther Smollich, HEAL
External expert: Marie Louise Holmer, Technical University of Denmark
- Mixture assessment factor
Facilitator: Ninja Reineke, CHEM Trust
External expert: Olwenn V. Martin, University College London
Facilitator: Theresa Kjell, ChemSec
External expert: Dr. Ksenia Groh, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology.
15:45 Coffee break
Refreshments provided on the patio
16:15 Panel 3 | Creating a home market for circular and toxic-free products
- Theresa Kjell, Head of Chemicals Policy, International Chemical Secretariat, Chemical Secretariat
- Raphaëlle Hennekinne, Policy Director for Sustainability, DIGITALEUROPE, European Federation for Digital Technology Industries
- Stéphanie Roland, Deputy Head of Cabinet for Climate and Environment of Jean-Luc Crucke, Belgian Environment Minister
- Joachim D'Eugenio, Adviser for Zero Pollution, Water Resilience & Green Urban Transition, Directorate General for Environment, European Commission
- Pelle Moos, Senior Advisor for Food, Health and Chemicals Safety, BEUC, European Consumer Organisation
Moderated by Anne Stauffer, Deputy Director of HEAL
17:30 Closing remarks on behalf of the Danish Presidency of the European Council
- Ida Hannibal, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Danish Ministry of Environment and Gender Equality
17:45 Reception
Walking dinner provided on the patio
18:45 End of the event
Contact
Fanny Buffin, EU policy support, CHEM Trust, fanny.buffin@chemtrust.org
Elke Zander, Head of Communications, HEAL, elke@env-health.org
Privacy policy
HEAL https://www.env-health.org/about/funding/#privacy-policy
CHEM Trust https://chemtrust.org/chem-trust-privacy-policy/
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We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the following funders: the European Union (EU), Sigrid Rausing Trust, Adessium Foundation and Flotilla Foundation. The responsibility for the content lies with the authors and the views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the EU institutions, CINEA and funders. The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) and the funders are not responsible for any use that may be made in our event.
HEAL EU transparency register number: 00723343929-96
CHEM Trust EU transparency register number: 27053044762-72
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