The International Conference “On the REACH road” was organised by the Ministry of Economy,  in cooperation with the Bureau for Chemical Substances and the Polish Chamber of Chemical Industry. As the year 2011 was designated by UN as the International Year of Chemistry (IYC 2011) and 2011 is also the year of celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Maria Skłodowska-Curie’s Nobel Prize in chemistry (MSC100) – the Conference was appointed as one of the activities undertaken to celebrate the IYC 2011, MSC100 as well as the 5th Anniversary of the adoption of the REACH regulation.

The conference examined the five years period of REACH implementation as a step towards innovation management and safe use of chemical substances. The aim of the conference was also to assess the industry and policy makers activities on both European and global scale.

Two-day conference had take participants through the following topics:

• industry experience with REACH (including the situation after the first phase of registration and the SME situation before the second phase of REACH registration);
• the REACH review process (including possible ways of future development of the regulation’s provisions);
• activities undertaken in order to improve the innovation and competitiveness of the chemical industry;
• influence of the REACH regulation on other international activities in respect of strategic management of chemicals.

The Conference was held in Warsaw, Poland, 23 – 24 November 2011. The event provide a dynamic environment for information exchange and will bring together the representatives of governmental institutions, non-governmental organizations, industry, scientists and chemical experts across Europe and from around the world. It also provide
a great opportunity for delegates to establish business relations for future collaboration on the global, chemical market.