Removing PFAS from supply chains to pioneer a safer, healthier world

However, PFAS’ seemingly superhero properties that make them resistant to chemicals and extreme conditions, also make them hard to break down. They build up in soil, water systems, marine environments, wildlife, and the human body – and stay there. Experts don’t know for how long.

The risk to human health from exposure to PFAS has been related to endocrine system disruption, interference in the reproductive system, immune system dysfunction, increased risk of certain cancers, and development delays in babies.

Increased scientific understanding has led to government agencies pushing more regulatory actions, some hefty fines, and growing media attention – all fuelling public awareness. As a result, just as asbestos, tobacco, and single-use plastic have caused some of the biggest controversies in human and environmental health, the scale of the PFAS challenge is fast gaining traction around the globe.

Organisations today have an urgent need to assess the impact of PFAS across their supply chains – evaluating risk, replacements, and remediation options using an agile and multifaceted approach. By doing so, they stand to become pioneers in a rapidly growing area of sustainability, as well as unlocking new growth opportunities.

Map out your PFAS risk profile

Taking a proactive stance with PFAS starts with understanding your organisation’s risk. Carry out an analysis of use or exposure to PFAS across the whole supply chain to quantify your organisation’s dependence and risk profile. Map out your supply chain to understand where PFAS are used in your products, processes, and materials. Starting with tier-one suppliers, identify areas directly affected by current restrictions or those likely to be impacted by legislative proposals, as well as potential bottlenecks. This needs a highly collaborative approach with suppliers who open up their own supply chains (tier two and three). Remember to consider how supply chains synchronise across different geographies, and the implications if products are removed from shelves in specific locations.

Fragmented and evolving legislation across the US, EU, and UK makes assessing the presence and levels of PFAS across your supply chain challenging. The smaller the permitted levels (or complete ban) of PFAS in materials and processes, the more sophisticated testing will need to be to detect them. Added complexity comes from current regulations remaining either in the early stages of development, covering specific and immediate sectors, or else restrictions that apply only to Perfluorooctanoic acid and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (the most widely known and applied PFAS substances). As new scientific evidence comes to light, the scope of regulations is likely to increase, along with new robust legislation to restrict and ban PFAS. Strengthening your regulatory compliance team to monitor evolving PFAS legislation is crucial as you analyse your supply chain.

In addition to scrutinising your supply chain with a regulation lens, you should also assess it against financial, brand, and business continuity risk. Factors to consider include legal response, derogation submission and financial penalties, and risk to market share and shareholder value.

Don't stop at PFAS replacements

Supply chains will become disrupted as PFAS alternatives soar in demand and price. However, substitutes for PFAS are complex. Collaborating with chemical engineers and material scientists, as well as supply chain experts, will help you identify the best PFAS alternatives. Key considerations for replacements should include:

• Environmental impact. PFAS replacements must have a significantly lower environmental impact and potentially biodegrade or have a reduced end of life compared to known PFAS compounds.
• Performance. Replacement compounds should meet or exceed the performance characteristics of PFAS for the intended application, like thermal stability, oil repellency, and chemical resistance, to name a few.
• Regulatory compliance. New materials must comply with existing regulations for the intended use.
• Health and safety. Replacement compounds must not impose risks to humans in terms of toxicity, carcinogenicity, and other potential health effects, with proven evidence.
• Economic viability and scalability. Replacement compounds should prove to be economically feasible, which includes the cost of raw materials, manufacturing processes, and potential changes to existing production lines while accounting for scale to meet industrial demands.

Substituting PFAS in your supply chain is one solution. But just trying to swap like-for-like could be a missed opportunity. By scrutinising your supply chain and the challenge your product or service is trying to solve, it presents an opportunity for you to consider solutions from fresh perspectives and new angles. This could result in ownership of new technology IP, innovative applications of existing PFAS alternatives, or an entirely new product or service. Some examples of recent advances in research towards PFAS-replacements or removal of PFAS include, but are not restricted to the EU-funded ZeroF ongoing project, which focuses on developing coating alternatives to replace PFAS in food packaging and textiles; companies like IBM using AI-driven frameworks to design safer replacements for PFAS used in chip photolithography, creating new molecules; the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research developing an organic-inorganic polymer as a PFAS alternative for textiles; and companies developing technologies to remove PFAS from the environment.

Create a remediation roadmap

Aligned to your risk analysis, you’ll need to develop mitigation strategies to systematically address priorities such as substitution, reduction, treatment, and prevention. A remediation strategy should include evaluating your existing PFAS inventory and be aligned to your supply chain risk assessment. You should plan for how you will dispose of or repurpose materials that don’t or won’t comply with regulation, starting with higher-risk materials. You should also develop contingency plans for any disruptions caused by PFAS-related changes. This should include mobilising a multifunctional team of scientists, engineers, supply chain experts, and legal experts to help forensically understand risks from a financial, brand, and business continuity perspective. Consider dual sourcing or diversifying suppliers and start the process of exploring alternatives through innovation and collaboration with industry partners.

The time is now to get proactive about PFAS

Navigating the PFAS challenge demands a comprehensive, organisation-wide approach, and a strategic response that spans the entire value chain. This should always start with a thorough assessment of where and how PFAS play a role in operations and market presence. By understanding the full scope of PFAS impact, you can implement effective measures to mitigate risks, ensure regulatory compliance, and promote sustainable practices across your organisation. It’s a challenge we all face together – by collaborating with industry, governments, and the science community – we can reduce exposure and pioneer safe alternatives to protect humans, communities, and the environment.