Industries which produce and use chemicals have a signifi cant impact on employment, trade and economic growth worldwide, but chemicals can have adverse effects on human health and the environment...Leading corporations have adopted chemical management programs and there are now many international conventions and institutions for addressing these chemicals globally. However, the increasing variety and complexity of chemicals and the...chemical supply chains and waste streams exposes serious gaps, lapses and inconsistencies in government and international policies and corporate practices...[I]nternational concerns are growing over the capacity to achieve the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation goal that, by 2020, chemicals will be produced and used in ways that minimize significant adverse effects on the environment and human health. [refers to SC Johnson, Boots, BASF, NCC, Skanska, JM, Peab, Bayer]