Investors warn chemical companies to change

The recent annual ChemScore ranking (November 29, 2022) shows that the chemical industry is not addressing the danger posed by PFAS, or ‘forever chemicals’ fast enough. Now, this emerging global crisis is gaining the attention of investment market.  

A group of significant investment companies, including AXA IM, Credit Suisse Asset Management (Switzerland) and Robeco, have sent a letter to CEO’s of large chemical companies stating:  

“We encourage you to lead, not be led, by phasing out and substituting these chemicals. In addition to the financial risks associated with litigation, producers of persistent chemicals face the risk of increased costs associated with reformulating products and modifying processes, which can have significant implications for company performance.”                                                                

They further called for chemical companies to demonstrate action and improve their ChemScore rankings. Currently, only four of 54 companies have a public strategy to phase out hazardous chemicals despite known risks to the environment, public health - and now, to investor value.  

We applaud those chemical companies who are already using HazEL to support action to reduce harm from their products, and we strongly encourage others to get on board and demonstrate that they want to do better!