Involve the value chain in policy design

As a proactive stakeholder ready to participate in the collaborative policy-making process with EU policymakers, IFRA values the partnership between the industry and policymakers. 

Representing a sector with considerable scientific and practical expertise, IFRA sees it as the most effective route to crafting meaningful policies that are both actionable and beneficial for the EU’s societal development and economic growth, as well as for the protection of human health and the environment.

Half of the European fragrance industry’s output is created by around 750 SMEs, that are often only tenuously placed to deal with the complexity of new regulation. Ambitious legislation remains important in achieving policy goals but remains only as good as its application and enforcement. 

The fragrance sector is located right in the centre of a complex and interconnected value chain. This value chain is already subject to an intricate patchwork of regulation in Europe. This means that even nuanced regulatory changes can have outsized effects up and down the value chain. The impact of unintended consequences can accumulate in unpredictable ways. 

For instance, the harmonized classification of fragrance ingredients (due to upstream chemicals legislation) can lead to the loss of some olfactive families from cosmetic, personal and homecare products, without bringing any additional safety or sustainability benefits. 

As such, the fragrance industry seeks to work closely with policy makers from the beginning to ensure that meaningful and workable sector-specific rules are actually deployed across the EU.

This approach allows the sector to serve as a resource by offering scientific and economic expertise and expressing informed concerns throughout the policy formulation process. Future European policies must be meaningful for society and actionable for all parties affected.