07/10/2025

Sustainable Chemistry ‘Inevitable’ Despite Pushback, Says Change Chemistry Executive Director

Chemical Watch | Shanda Moorghen | July 9, 2025

Sustainable chemistry ‘inevitable’ despite pushback, says change chemistry executive director

Sustainable chemistry is "inevitable" despite pushback, with only the pace at which it occurs a subject of debate, says the new executive director of multi-stakeholder organisation Change Chemistry. 

There has been concern in recent months that legislators are moving away from sustainable chemistry policies, including with the launch of the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal (CID) and the deregulation agenda in the US. 

Jason Pearson (pictured), who recently took over from Change Chemistry’s founder Joel Tickner, told Chemical Watch News & Insight that many stakeholders across the value chain would like to see the transition towards sustainable chemistry happen quicker. However, he is also keen to speak to companies that are not at the forefront of that transformation. 

"We should be bringing in companies trying to make sense of what the transformation means for them, even if in some cases sustainable chemistry threatens their existing business models," said Pearson. 

However, he warned that the organisation would reconsider company membership if they adopted an obstructionist approach and pushed back on sustainable chemistry. 

"We are explicit that we can expel a member who is advocating for legacy chemicals rather than sustainable chemistry or a member who is trying to slow the pace of change rather than engage with our community," Pearson said. 

He also said businesses would be at risk if they do not adopt sustainable chemistry policies, with investors now more interested in understanding the issues associated with the use of hazardous chemicals. 

"The case we will continue to make to businesses is that no company can avoid confronting the fundamentals of the fact that our society will continue to transform the overall portfolio of chemicals away from substances we understand to be hazardous and more risky to use," he said. 

NGO pressure

Pearson said it was also crucial for Change Chemistry to keep providing a platform for environmental NGOs as they face growing pressure for their activities, including via the use of a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP). 

"The environment for running an advocacy NGO is more challenging today than it was a few years ago but they are not going away. They have appropriate strategies to deal with SLAPP suits and we will continue to partner with them and keep them in the conversation," he said. 

There is also value, Pearson said, for businesses to keep close ties and communicate with NGOs to avoid the uncertainty posed by advocacy campaigns against companies making products with hazardous chemicals.