Annual Report. A Decade of DEVELOPMENT

Transcription

1 Annual Report A Decade of DEVELOPMENT

2 Table of Contents Letter from the Director General... 1 Global Map of Members... 2 NIA Mission & Objectives... 3 Looking Back at 10 Years of NIA... 4 Promoting a Clear Path to Market for Nanomaterials... 5 Increasing Our Effectiveness Through Successful Partnerships... 7 Leading the Conversation on Nanotechnologies... 9 Looking Ahead to the Future Letter from the Director General The Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) is proud to celebrate our tenth year representing the most innovative and forward-thinking companies in the world. Over the past decade, nanotechnology has drastically changed the landscape around us. The innovations produced by our companies can be found throughout our everyday lives, changing how we take our medicine, grow our food, and build our cities. New products are reaching the market at an increasing pace and are poised to transform global societies, from rural communities to bustling metropolises. It is clear - nanotechnology has become an essential building block of our world. NIA s work since our inception in 2005 has helped build the positive environment in which nanotechnology thrives. Projects like PROSPEcT, NANoREG and MARINA produced essential tools for meeting regulatory requirements and bringing safe, reliable and beneficial products to consumers. Direct dialogue with policymakers and regulators demonstrated our industry s commitment to proper stewardship and the need for a predictable path to market for our products. Expertise across sectors solidified our role as a source of information for media covering our industry. Collaborations with like-minded stakeholders in the halls of the OECD and elsewhere amplified the voice of our industry and built valuable networks. After 10 years, we still push ourselves to meet new challenges everyday and 2015 offered opportunities to bring a unified industry perspective to discussions over regulation and standards for nanotechnology. Through engagement with bodies like the European Commission, United States Environmental Protection Agency and International Organization for Standardization, we demonstrated the need for clear, effective and science-based policies that allow companies to continually deliver the benefits of nanotechnology to consumers. Our hard-won reputation as a transparent, collaborative and respectful industry partner ensured our voice was heard. Our project work placed NIA in the centre of discussions that will shape nanotechnology industries for the coming decades. From FP7 to Horizon 2020, these initiatives are creating the frameworks for developing, testing and regulating nanotechnology, as well as educating the public about the technology. These projects enable NIA to build networks across the value chain, which strengthen our voice with key stakeholders and improves access for our membership. NIA has also made important strides the past two years in keeping our membership up-to-date on regulatory and policy developments. Through NIA s webinars, consultations and symposiums, our members have been able to better adapt to a continuously changing nanotechnology landscape and predict what is on the horizon for our industry. "After 10 years, we still push ourselves to meet new challenges everyday." The past ten years have been transformative for both NIA and our industry. I am proud to see what we have achieved and look forward to another decade of success ahead. Thank you all very much, DAVID CARLANDER, DIRECTOR GENERAL 1

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4 Mission & Objectives The Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA), is the leading voice of the nanotechnology industries. On behalf of membership across Europe and around the world, we support the development of nanotech innovations that improve the lives of consumers, preserve our environment and advance our world. NIA and our Members are committed to the safe, sustainable and beneficial use of nanotechnology and nanomaterials across all industries. We believe in fostering a better understanding of nanotechnology s important role in society and building a positive global environment for nanotech innovation. NIA s objectives are to support: Nanotechnology industries by: Ensuring a strong industry voice is present in global nanotech policy and regulatory discussions. Communicating the essential role of nanotechnology in improving our daily lives and advancing our world. Forming focused research collaborations with stakeholders across the public and private sector to help build a positive regulatory, policy and acceptance environment for nanotechnology. Identifying untapped portions of the supply chain where nanotechnologies can provide a unique and beneficial value. Creating partnership opportunities between NIA Members that can help bring new nanotech innovations to the market. Demonstrating our responsible commitment to developing and stewarding safe, sustainable and beneficial nanotech innovations. Helping NIA Members, especially SMEs, deliver new products to market. Ensuring NIA Members are up-to-date on global nanotech legislative and regulatory developments. Regulators and policymakers by: Being a transparent and collaborative industry stakeholder. Providing clear industry perspectives and positions on nanotech issues. Collaborating with other stakeholders to support predictable, effective regulatory environments that enable nanotech innovations to safely and efficiently reach consumers. The general public by: Helping consumers better understand nanotechnology in our daily lives. Working with media to ensure nanotechnology is accurately reported. Respectfully addressing any questions about the use of nanotechnology, including risks and safe development. 3

5 Looking Back at 10 Years of NIA The Nanotechnology Industries Association was founded in 2005 with a singular focus: help build the positive enabling environment required for nanotechnology to thrive. Nanotechnology was a young industry, but with enormous potential. The ability to reliably produce nanomaterials had been achieved and researchers were discovering new ways to transform the health, sustainability and productivity of our lives. However, building a supportive environment required enormous work and direct engagement with governments, regulators, NGOs, consumers and the media. This was not a task for one organisation, but required collaboration across all sectors to achieve their common goal. NIA was created to take on this challenge. In 2005, the United Kingdom was leading the world in assessing nanotechnology in both the public and private sector, making London a natural home for NIA. The organisation quickly became a leader and valued partner among nanotechnology stakeholders. NIA contributed to seminal policy documents, such as the UK Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution s 'Novel Materials in the Environment: The Case of Nanotechnology,' engaged directly with policymakers, including testifying in parliament, and formed collaborations that would shape the industry. The NIA-led public-private partnership PROSPEcT brought together the private sector, universities and governments to develop the toxicology data needed to assess nanomaterial safety. The results of this project have formed the foundations for functional nanotechnology regulatory systems around the world. The Nanotechnology Industries Association : was founded in 2005 with a singular focus help build the positive enabling environment required for nanotechnology to thrive. These successes delivered worldwide recognition to NIA and increasingly pulled the organisation into international nanotechnology issues. In response, the Nanotechnology Industries Association opened their global offices in Brussels, Belgium in Preceded by a reputation as a responsive, transparent partner, NIA was quickly engaged in policy, regulatory, advocacy and communications collaborations in Brussels. Our organisation ensured a strong voice for nanotechnology industries was heard in key European forums throughout the next six years. NIA was invited to participate in highprofile projects like NANoREG and MARINA, contribute data to key institutions like the Joint Research Centre and work directly with government authorities like the European Chemicals Agency. Throughout its history, NIA has worked tirelessly to demonstrate our industries commitment to transparency, engagement and collaboration. We believe working with all members of the value chain to understand their needs, questions and concerns is the only way to realise the full potential of nanotechnology. Our history is a story of productive cooperation achieving results, and we are proud to have helped build the positive environment for nanotechnology we see today Annual Report 4

6 Promoting a Clear Path to Market for Nanomaterials Engaging with Policymakers and Regulators The Nanotechnology Industries Association and our membership are firmly committed to the safe, sustainable and beneficial use of nanotechnology and nanomaterials. Producing nanotech innovations that can improve the world around us, while ensuring the protection of worker health and our environment is paramount for our industry. We are proud to be responsible, transparent partners with regulators and policymakers to help us achieve this goal. In , NIA engaged with governments in Europe, North America, South America and Australia to advocate for clear, science-based policies that assure the public nanomaterials are used safely, while providing innovators with predictability in regulation. This approach on key issues such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency s Toxic Substances Control Act update, Health Canada s assessment of a domestic substances list, the European Medical Devices and Novel Foods regulatory updates, REACH Annexes modification, the European Commission s impact assessment on nanomaterial transparency measures, and the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks consultation on nano-silver helps shape regulations so they fit the needs of both the public and private sectors. Creating Harmonised Standards for our Industries Clear, effective standards for nanomaterials provide our members with the necessary tools for bringing new nanotech innovations to market. NIA worked closely with stakeholders within the ISO/TC 229, CEN/T 352 and UK-BSI NTI/1 standards throughout the past two years to build valuable networks and create a strong voice for our industry in standardisation discussions. This allowed NIA to focus our efforts on challenging, often political, areas of standardization, such as terminology, measurement, environmental, health and safety testing, and material specification, to promote outcomes that help, rather than hinder, nanotechnology growth. NIA has also pushed for the principles that had been developed in the Responsible Nano Code to be taken up in a Technical Report on responsible nanotechnology that is under development at the European Level. 5

7 Adapting to a New European Policy Landscape The European regulatory framework for nanotechnologies is rapidly changing and NIA is helping our industry work within this new reality. National markets pose new challenges as nanotechnology registries are coming into force. Companies can no longer approach the continent as a single market, but must operate within changing, and often contradictory, frameworks. NIA staff in 2014 and 2015 worked closely with national level regulators to build our institutional knowledge and allow us to help our members adhere to this evolving landscape. This positions NIA to speak with a strong, knowledgeable voice for industry in countries considering new regulations to demonstrate the redundancies and inefficiencies created. NIA s knowledge and advocacy will be critical in the coming years as more countries and even the European Commission consider additional registry systems. Advocating for a Workable Approach to Nanomaterials in REACH The REACH annex for nanotechnology is scheduled for completion in 2016 and NIA is prepared for the changes it will bring. In 2014 and 2015, we worked closely with ECHA as an accredited stakeholder to establish our industry s voice in the discussion. We made clear our industries need for reasonable regulations properly tailored to nanotechnology. A science-based framework that minimises risks while fostering the innovative research environment that has made nanotechnology one of the European Commission s key enabling technologies can be achieved. NIA also collaborated with diverse partners in FP7 projects that feed into the Annex development process. This ensured industry-relevant data was being analysed and, therefore, would produce outcomes appropriate for nanotech innovators. Once the annex is published, NIA will be ready to help our industry adapt to the new framework while beginning work on any new challenges that arise. Keeping Members Informed on the Latest Nanotech News When our membership has the necessary information for meeting the challenges ahead, the entire value chain benefits. Throughout 2014 and 2015, the NIA Regulatory Monitoring Database provided consistent updates on policies coming into force, allowing companies to stay ahead of an ever-changing regulatory landscape and continually deliver new products to the market. Regular webinars kept membership abreast of developments in Brussels as key policies were debated by the European institutions, and our comprehensive reports and analysis provided a clear picture of regulations to date Annual Report 6

8 Increasing Our Effectiveness The Nanotechnology Industries Association has spent the past decade building a reputation as responsible, transparent and productive partners. We have shown our industry is prepared to work with stakeholders across the value chain, including policymakers, regulators, academia, and NGOs, to help achieve our common goal creating an environment where nanotech innovations can improve our world. Completed Projects: NanoEIS Educating youth about the science behind nanotechnology is essential for encouraging nanotech innovation in the coming decades. NanoEIS evaluated how secondary schools and universities currently teach nanotechnology and assessed which approaches work best. NIA helped map best practices and stakeholder needs, ensuring that NanoEIS recommendations for curriculum help produce new generations of scientists interested in nanotechnology. MARINA With a consortium of over four-dozen organisations, the MARINA project assembled a broad coalition to develop and validate the risk management methods for Nanomaterials. NIA was able to represent industry across several work packages, helping identify materials to be tested and assessed, supporting the development of dossiers and assisting with dissemination. This helped data generated in the project be appropriate and relevant for industry, while building essential connections across the global nanotechnology community. REACH-Nano Help Desk With REACH regulations now in effect for nanotechnologies, conducting proper risk assessment is a pre-requisite for any product to reach the market. This made REACH-Nano Help Desk, whose goal was to develop easy-to-use tools for conducting nanomaterial risk assessments, an NIA priority. Through our active participation in material selection and result dissemination, resources created in the project were relevant and helped make the regulatory process smoother for our membership. NanoMICEX NIA and our members are firmly committed to proper stewardship of nanomaterials throughout their lifecycle to ensure stakeholders are able to maximise their benefits, while minimising risk. NanoMICEX contributed to this objective by designing novel methods for nanoparticle development that reduce their toxicity. NIA led project dissemination and communications, sharing results with industries and collecting feedback on the appropriateness of methods under development. Netzwerk NanoSilber Creating strong networks throughout the global nanotech community has helped NIA build our reputation as a positive, responsible and transparent industry partner. Netzwerk NanoSilber was an opportunity for NIA to create new connections within the German nanotech community by leading communications among project members. Global-NanoMaPPP Building partnerships across the value chain has been a foundation of NIA activities since our formation. Global-NanoMaPPP, an initiative to address nanomaterial safety led by NIA, embodied this approach by bringing together industry, public authorities, scientists and other stakeholders for a transparent, honest and coherent collaboration. The project outcomes informed regulatory compliance on development of nanomaterials and are now used in the OECD sponsorship programme. NanoRelease To better inform discussions of nanomaterials in food, the NanoRelease project looked to identify and develop methods to confidently measure how nanoparticles behave when ingested. NIA participated in the project steering committee and co-chaired key task groups, while the project produced publications that are helping answers key regulatory questions on nanomaterials in food. 7

9 Through Successful Partnerships NIA s work building collaborative projects in 2014 and 2015, whether through Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), Horizon 2020 or on an ad-hoc basis, has been essential in this effort. NIA has been able to amplify the voice and effectiveness of our industry by participating in projects where our work can make a difference in its outcome. From large projects like MARINA and NANoREG to smaller ones like NanoEIS and SeeingNano, each represented an opportunity for NIA to advance a positive global environment for nanotechnology. Ongoing Projects: NANoREG Our participation in NANoREG, an FP7 initiative developing new data and testing strategies, has enabled NIA to work hand-in-hand with the full nanotechnology value chain to provide regulators with the right resources for developing regulations. Achieving predictable, effective nanomaterial regulations has been a primary objective for NIA since our inception and NanoReg helps us towards that goal. NanoReg2 Building on the lessons learned in NanoReg, the NanoReg2 project will continue to refine the regulatory process by establishing Safe by Design as a fundamental pillar in the development and validation of nanomaterials. NIA is engaged in numerous work packages, from dissemination to data collection, to provide productive industry representation throughout this highprofile Horizon 2020 project. NanoDefine The European Commission s creation of a formal nanomaterial definition in 2011 was a milestone for nanotechnology. For the first time, harmonised terminology was codified, providing greater clarity to regulations. To support its implementation though, researchers require validation of robust, cost-effective and reliable measurement tools for nanomaterials, and NanoDefine aims to meet their needs. NIA s participation in NanoDefine is helping ensure our members and industries have the best methods for achieving regulatory compliance under the new nanomaterial definition. NanoDiode Nanotechnology s continued success in Europe relies on a robust dialogue between nanotech developers and the the consumers reaping the benefits. NanoDiode s objective is to evaluate how engagement across the value chain, from producers to the public, can be increased and improved. NIA is working with a diverse set of partners through the project to craft messages about nanotechnology safety, risk assessment and benefits tailored towards the public while evaluating delivery mechanisms. NanoData Understanding the changing contours of nanotechnology industries can help both the private and public sectors determine how to best support it. NanoData is the largest attempt todate to assess how the nanotechnology industry is continually growing, from patents to company size. NIA s engagement in NanoData advocates for outcomes which can help public and private research funds better target potential growth areas in nanotechnology. SeeingNano Explaining a technology that one cannot see is one of the most difficult challenges for communicators. Without this frame of reference, audiences can struggle to understand the role of nanotech in their daily lives. The NIA-led SeeingNano project overcomes this challenge through engaging tools that help people better understand nanotechnology in everything from their cell phone to their car. ProSafe Since our inception, NIA has sought opportunities to work across the value chain to build a collaborative regulatory system for nanotechnology. This creates a system with broad-based support that can bolster a positive enabling environment, and ProSafe is pillar of this approach. NIA coordinates and builds support for risk assessment, management and governance of nanomaterials in a safe-by-design framework with key stakeholders through the initiative Annual Report 8

10 Leading the Conversation on Nanotechnologies Amplifying our Voice NIA s ability to build productive partnerships across our sector continues solidify our position as nanotech leaders. One such NIA-led initiative brought together over a dozen associations, from chemical to plastics to agriculture industries, to produce new materials for outreach and create a more harmonised voice for the private sector. This approach creates a strong, unified front for European nanotechnology advocacy that can effectively represent our membership. Through our collaboration with like-minded stakeholders at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development s Business Information Advisory Committee and Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials, NIA contributes to the data generation that supports global nanomaterial testing and ultimately underpins regulatory frameworks worldwide. Our toxicological data submissions on zinc oxide, cerium dioxide and nanoclays to the OECD s Sponsorship Programme for the Testing of Manufactured Nanomaterials provided an essential foundation for these products in their testing programme platform launched in June Expanding our Scope As new nanotech policies are being evaluated around the world, NIA is staying ahead of the curve on behalf of our membership. In 2014, we were invited by the European Commission to join a visit to Brazil and meet with local policymakers as they develop nanosafety frameworks. We were able to discuss industry stewardship and the benefits of nanotechnology, while highlighting the need for a regulatory system that works with companies to bring safe and beneficial nanotech innovations to consumers. In North America, we are working closely with our allies and members to engage with regulators as they consider new approaches for nanotechnology. In the U.S., NIA is closely following developments on TSCA and how it will impact our membership while keeping our voice present in Canada as national agencies discuss nanotech registries. In Australia, we are tracking the increase in nanotechnology discussions. The global conversation around nanotechnology is growing, and NIA is committed to being a vocal and positive participant. Raising Our Profile Ensuring media have accurate information on nanotechnology is essential to improving public understanding of the technology. NIA has worked to build strong relationships with media by being a trustworthy and responsive information source on nanotechnology. Below is a selection of the resulting coverage: Nanotechnologies' potential for the poor 9

11 Looking Ahead to the Future In 2016, NIA will build off the successes of the past 10 years and create new opportunities to be a strong, visible voice for the nanotechnology industries. We will grow our external communications program to build the presence and leadership of the association. Through new tools and resources, from social media materials to infographics, NIA will be a visible and vocal global champion for nanotechnology. We will showcase the firm commitment of NIA and our membership to the updated mission and objectives of our industry, as well as essential contributions of nanotechnology to our world. Internally, we will work to ensure our membership remains well-informed and engaged with the entire value chain. Our monthly Members Newsletter will demonstrate how we are effectively working on your behalf, while networking initiatives will create opportunities to connect with your fellow members. New projects beginning under Horizon 2020, such as calibrate, NanoGenTools and NET-MARKET- FLUIDS, will allow NIA to bolster our industry s reputation as a productive partner in the global nanotech community. As these initiatives shape the research, regulatory and policy framework for nanotechnology, NIA will be present as a respected participant in the discussion, ready to work on our members behalf. With numerous regulatory decisions expected in 2016, from the REACH annex to nanomaterial definition to national registries, our reputation and networks are more important than ever. We will work with our allies and stakeholders to help regulators and policymakers understand how these decisions will impact not just our companies, but the economic growth and innovative potential worldwide. NIA will build off the successes of the past 10 years and create new opportunities to be a strong, visible voice for the nanotechnology industries. Throughout the next year, we will work on your behalf to create a positive environment for nanotechnology so your research may continue to revolutionise the world around us Annual Report 10

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