UNEP hosts the Secretariat of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), a global multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder policy framework working to promote the sound management of chemicals across their lifecycle.
An inclusive, voluntary, global policy framework, SAICM provides a platform for Member States and non-state actors to deliberate on the sound management of chemicals within an atmosphere of relative trust and cooperation. SAICM helps implement a global system of classifying and labelling chemicals, and assists in establishing accident preparedness and poison control centres. SAICM also identifies emerging issues, raising the profile of new threats such as endocrine-disrupting chemicals and nanomaterials.
The UNEP GEF Chemicals and Waste Portfolio and the SAICM Secretariat work together on projects focused on lead in paint, electronic waste, chemicals in textiles, and many other topics that are the subject of the SAICM Emerging Policy Issues (EPIs).
Discussions are currently underway on the holding of the fifth International Conference on Chemical Management, which would deliberate on an ambitious successor instrument to advance the global agenda of the sound management of chemicals.
