Alternatives Assessment

Alternatives assessment is a science‐policy approach to support the informed substitution of chemicals of concern in consumer products and industries, with the intent of avoiding regrettable substitution and facilitating the transition to safer, more sustainable chemicals and products. The field of alternatives assessment has grown steadily in recent decades, particularly after the publication of specific frameworks and the inclusion of substitution and alternatives assessment requirements in a number of policy contexts.

Objectives and Scope 

The Jennifer Altman Foundation has commissioned the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production to review available information relative to the uses   and potential alternatives for two brominated flame retardants, tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and hexabromocyclododecane HBCD. The objective of this study is to accomplish the following:  

Building on the OECD Guidance on Key Considerations for the Identification and Selection of Safer Chemical Alternatives, this report describes the results of a landscape study of sustainability attributes used by companies to guide chemical and material selection decisions.

This report was developed under the Working Party on Risk Management. This report summarises discussions held at a workshop on Additional Attributes Beyond Safer for Chemical Selection and Substitution held in Paris 23-24 September 2024. A draft report was reviewed by workshop participants and the Working Party on Risk Management agreed for the report to be released publicly.  The Acknowledgements were added to this publication by the OECD Secretariat.

Introduction

Mitigating the impact of toxic chemicals on human health and the environment requires an informed transition to safer alternative chemicals, materials, and technologies. Alternatives assessment is a multi-disciplinary approach to support informed substitution and is defined as a “process for identifying and comparing potential chemical and non-chemical alternatives that could replace chemicals of concern on the basis of their hazards, performance, and economic viability” (National Research Council, 2014).

Introduction  

Supporting the transition to safer and more sustainable chemicals and materials requires minimizing the chance of a regrettable substitution. Alternatives assessment is defined as a “process for identifying and comparing potential chemical and non-chemical alternatives [e.g., materials, products, technologies] that could replace chemicals of concern on the basis of their hazards, performance, and economic viability” (National Research Council, 2014).