Biodiversity Policy Engagement Analysis
Biodiversity Lobbying Overview:The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) exhibits active engagement, with both positive and negative engagement with science-aligned biodiversity policy. Cefic has predominantly engaged with EU legislation, focusing on policies related to land use change and pollution.
Top-Line Messaging on Biodiversity Loss: Cefic has limited high-level messaging on biodiversity loss. Cefic appears to have not provided a position on the science of biodiversity loss since a May 2022 press release that was fully supportive. Cefic communicated broad support for action on biodiversity loss in its December 2023 press release. Cefic does not appear to have commented on the UN Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD), or the need for government regulation to address biodiversity loss.
Engagement with Biodiversity-Related Regulations: Cefic has mostly engaged on pollution related policies, particularly on the EU’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation, with mostly negative positions. In separate March and April 2025 European Commission meetings to discuss REACH, Cefic opposed the introduction of mixture assessment factors in the regulation, which would account for the potential combined effects of multiple chemicals. In its April 2025 REACH ‘action plan’, Cefic advocated for weakening the scope of REACH, calling for “additional socio-economic data” in the regulation’s decision-making process.
Cefic has repeatedly to weaken EU legislation by advocating for the inclusion of a mass balance approach and chemical recycling, for example in an October 2023 joint letter. In an April 2023 feedback response, Cefic advocated for a mass balance approach within the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). In its May 2023 Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) feedback, Cefic advocated a similar position.
Cefic has also negatively engaged with EU soil legislation. In an October 2023 position paper, Cefic advocated for removing the ‘potentially contaminated sites’ category from the EU Soil Monitoring Law site registration process, and described the method of calculating non-compliance fines as “unfair.” In a Soil Monitoring Law ‘action plan’, accessed in June 2025 from its corporate website, Cefic advocated for identical revisions to the law.
In a January 2024 consultation presentation, obtained from UCSF’s Industry Documents Library, Cefic provided EU consultation response recommendations to its members to promote consistent advocacy in favor of continued use of PFAS. Furthermore, in comments published in a January 2025 Euractiv article, Cefic appeared to advocate against proposed EU PFAS bans, and claimed the chemicals are crucial for “safeguarding Europe’s strategic economic and technological capabilities”.
Cefic has engaged on policies relating to land use change, with an overall mixed position. In a September 2023 position paper Cefic advocated for an increased use of biomass, but did emphasize the need for “careful balance” between production and environmental protection. In September 2024 comments, obtained from its corporate website, Cefic advocated for increasing the use of bio-based feedstocks, but again recognized the need for this process to align with environmental policies.
Cefic has also engaged on policy relevant to multiple drivers of biodiversity loss. In a November 2024 joint statement, Cefic advocated for simplifying the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). In a February 2025 press release, Cefic advocated its support for weakening and delaying the CSDDD through the EU’s Omnibus package.
Positioning on Statutory Protection of Wildlife: Cefic has not stated a position on the statutory protection of wildlife.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate biodiversity policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q3 2025.