The substitution principle in

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

is the maxim that processes, services and products should, wherever possible, be replaced with alternatives which have a lower impact on the environment. An example of a strong, hazard-based interpretation of the principle in application to

chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wi ...

s is: "that hazardous chemicals should be systematically substituted by less hazardous alternatives or preferably alternatives for which no hazards can be identified". The principle has historically been promoted by

environmental group The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists a ...

s. The concept is becoming increasingly mainstream, being a key concept in

green chemistry Green chemistry, also called sustainable chemistry, is an area of chemistry and chemical engineering focused on the design of products and processes that minimize or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. While environmental che ...

and a central element of EU REACH regulation. Critics of the principle claim it is very difficult to implement in reality, especially in terms of

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...

. Nonetheless, the concept is an important one and a key driver behind identifying Substances of Very High Concern in REACH and the development of hazardous substance lists such as th
SIN List
and th
ETUC Trade Union Priority List
EU-funded projects such as SubsPort are under development to aid the identification and development of safer substitutes for hazardous chemicals.Lissner L, Romano D. Substitution for Hazardous Chemicals on an International Level-The Approach of the European Project "SUBSPORT". New Solut. 2011 Jan 1;21(3):477-97. PubMed .

References

External links

CarbonClick - Leading Carbon Offsetting Provider
Sustainable development {{Sustainability-stub

See also

References

External links