Towards 2020: Making chemicals safer

The European Union played a pivotal role in the launch of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), which was developed and negotiated with the participation of a wide range of stakeholders from more than 140 countries. It was adopted by the United Nations Environment Programme’s Governing Council in February 2006 in Dubai. The SAICM Global Plan of Action sets out nearly 300 different activities that will help countries reach its overall objective of achieving the sound management of chemicals throughout their life-cycle so that, by 2020, they are used and produced in ways that reduce major adverse effects on health and the environment.