About DUCC | DUCC

What is DUCC?

The Downstream Users of Chemicals Co-ordination Group (DUCC) is a platform of 11 European associations which represent “downstream” industries ranging from cosmetics and detergents to aerosols, paints, inks, toners, pressroom chemicals, adhesives and sealants, construction chemicals, fragrances, disinfectants, lubricants and chemical distributors industries.

The group's main objective is to contribute, with a common voice, to the successful implementation of the requirements of the REACH and CLP Regulations.

Since its creation in 2001, DUCC has been recognised by the EU authorities and other stakeholders as the common voice for many users of chemicals. DUCC has been and will continue to be actively involved in the legislative process, contributing constructively to the implementation of both the REACH Regulation, (EC) No 1907/2006, and the CLP Regulation, (EC) No 1272/2008, and ensuring that downstream users’ needs, rights, duties and specificities are taken into account.

This website contains information on DUCC – its objectives, functioning and membership – and its activities, as well as some useful links and contact information.

Note: DUCC develops guidance and tools to help its members and industry in general, but each company remains individually responsible for compliance with chemicals legislation.

DUCC’s objectives are to:

offer a platform for associations/federations of downstream users of chemicals, which formulate and/or place on the market chemical mixtures intended for end-users, where they can exchange information and expertise, work on issues of common interest and build up common positions towards other stakeholders.
advise and help downstream users to implement the REACH and CLP Regulations, through common activities, guidance documents and practical tools.
initiate dialogue and co-ordinate activities with the European Commission and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to ensure, as far as possible, that downstream users’ concerns are appropriately addressed and to contribute to the implementation activities.
establish, where possible, common positions on EU chemicals legislation, jointly support these views and related amendments towards European Institutions, and provide input to Commission activities related to legislation.
identify other areas of common interest where common views and activities would be of benefit for DUCC members’ companies.

Discover our members

A.I.S.E.

ATIEL

CEPE

Cosmetics Europe

CropLife Europe

EFCC

FEA

FECC

FEICA

I&P Europe

IFRA

Governance

With its expertise, DUCC contributes actively to the effective implementation of the REACH and CLP Regulations, aiming to improve the workability of the system.

DUCC has actively contributed during the legal process for the adoption of REACH, making and advocating several concrete proposals, which include:

Support for a pre-registration step and exposure-driven, tiered risk assessment approach as promoted by ECETOC (Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals) and as illustrated by the HERA (Human and Environmental Risk Assessment) model.
The necessity to carry out risk assessments ahead of any decisions on restriction or authorisation.
Encouraging centralised decisions through the creation of a European Chemicals Agency.
Proposing mechanisms for involvement of Downstream Users in registration dossiers, particularly on exposure assessment.

Since the publication of both REACH and CLP, DUCC is advising and helping its members in their implementation activities, through the exchange of knowledge and experience, and through common activities which are organised as and when needed. It also coordinates activities in certain areas of common interest, e.g. downstream users’ use maps.

DUCC also establishes common positions on issues related to other chemicals regulations.

DUCC is in a regular dialogue with the European Commission and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to ensure that downstream users’ concerns are appropriately addressed. In this context, DUCC is actively contributing to the implementation activities organised by the European Commission and by ECHA (for example on REACH guidance development and update), is one of the founding members of the Exchange Network on Exposure Scenarios (ENES) and was a main contributor to the Chemical Safety Report/Exposure Scenarios Roadmap (CSR/ES Roadmap) activities.

DUCC members meet regularly to discuss the issues on their common agenda that are relevant in the DUCC context. The group is functioning by consensus and only positions agreed by all DUCC members become DUCC positions and are advocated as such.

Click here for DUCC's Key Principles.

An important partner for EU policy makers

DUCC was founded in 2001 following the publication of the European Commission’s White Paper “Strategy for a Future Chemicals Policy”. Being in a strategic position in the chemicals value chain, since then DUCC has focused its work mainly on the downstream users’ needs, rights, duties and specificities under REACH and CLP, thus enabling the successful implementation of these legal requirements.

More particularly DUCC:

is recognised by EU authorities and other stakeholders as the common voice for many users of chemicals, operating in an open, engaging, constructive and science-based way
has provided expert advice, guidance documents and practical tools to key members of the value chain with the aim to secure safe use of chemicals
was a co-founding member of two important ECHA multi-stakeholder initiatives on the topic of supply chain communication (ENES and CSR/ES Roadmap).

DUCC members are keen to pursue their constructive dialogue with policy makers and influencers on the future state of chemicals policy in Europe.

20 years of active engagement for successful Chemicals Policy in Europe

Since its creation in 2001, DUCC has engaged very actively with a broad range of stakeholders across the chemicals value chain, as well as external policy makers in the EU institutions but also in Member States.

In 2021 we are delighted to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of DUCC. On this auspicious occasion we have collected testimonials from some key individuals in industry and various institutions, who have been pivotal in the history of DUCC over the last two decades. Listen to them by clicking on the video.

The testimonials include Anne-Marie Rodeyns, Veronique Scailteur, Gwenole Cozigou, Geert Dancet, Bjorn Hansen, Sylvie Lemoine, Marco Mensink and Jan Robinson.

Discover our complete video