The last Products in Compliance conference took place on November 2023 in Radisson Blu Edwardian, Heathrow.
A huge congratulations to all involved in the event, and a huge thanks to all our speakers and chairs for giving up their time to come and present to our conference audience.
You can read about the conference topics below. You can also read some of the conference feedback, watch some footage from the event, including interviews from some of our speakers. If you feel you missed out, why not contact us to book your place for this year’s conference?
The conference covered the following key themes:
Chemical substances
Global PFAS restriction and lead authorisation developments including those concerning the EU, UK and US; EU and UK RoHS including exemptions; UK product regulation and producer responsibility policy; the status of the EU REACH regulation review; the new EU F-Gas Regulation.
Market access and technical conformity
Key impacts of Brexit on maintaining both EU and UK compliance; artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT); product risk assessment methodologies.
Sustainability
UK and EU ecodesign and energy labelling policy (e.g. the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) regulation; resource and material efficiency (e.g. 4555X standards); critical raw materials and policy; repairability and obsolescence.
Extended producer responsibility
Updates on EU/UK/global policy developments in WEEE, batteries and packaging.
Ethical supply chain
New anti-forced labour product legislation and what this means for industry.
08.45 Registration and refreshments
Chair Dr Chris Robertson
Head of Product Regulatory Compliance, RINA
09.00 Welcome and scene setting
Dr Chris Robertson
Head of Product Regulatory Compliance, RINA
- Welcome!
- The year in review
09.20 OECD’s work on PFAS
Dr Eeva Leinala
Principal Administrator for Programmes on Risk Management, Good Laboratory Practices and Mutual Acceptance of Data, The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- Sharing of risk management approaches between countries
- Supporting a shift to safer alternatives
- Development of information – terminology, fact sheets, synthesis reports – to support management of PFAS.
09.50 Global PFAS impacts
Emily Tyrwhitt Jones
Principal Regulatory Consultant, RINA
- EU’s global per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) restriction: impact, derogations and actions required
- US PFAS obligations
- How to respond as a business.
10.20 Panel discussion
10.30 Refreshments
Weronika Dorociak
Programme Manager - Sustainability, techUK
11.00 Review of the status of lead authorisation
Lisa Allen
Senior Regulatory Affairs Manager, International Lead Association (ILA)
- Current status of the REACH authorisation process
- Potential regulatory pathways
- Potential impacts
- How to respond.
11.30 The EU’s Lead REACH authorisation: what could it mean for me?
Cathy Phillips
Principal Regulatory Consultant, RINA
- The possible interaction with RoHS and lead in electrical and electronic equipment
- Lead in alloys where it is a deliberate additive such as in free-flowing steels
- Metals where lead is an impurity – for example what it might mean for galvanising etc.
- Safety uses of lead such as the impacts on radiation shielding and non-destructive engineering techniques.
12.00 JOINT PRESENTATION – Paul Hallett and Peter Alcock
RoHS regulations in the UK – A policy update
Paul Hallett
Policy Lead – RoHS, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra)
- In Great Britain
- In Northern Ireland
- Fees and charging.
OPSS/Defra/RINA collaborative development of establishing a serious risk to the environment by incorporating risk assessment
Peter Alcock
RoHS Enforcement Team Lead, Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS)
- What constitutes a “Serious Risk to the Environment”?
- Establishing the potential harm from ten different substances
- Correlating the data to 1,000 disposal/landfill sites
- Evidencing and quantifying an effect on the environment
- OPSS Risk Assessment – “PRISM”.
12.40 Panel discussion
12.50 Lunch
Chair Adam Fletcher
Chairman, Electronic Components Supply Network (ECSN)
13.50 RoHS Directive exemptions and their business impact
Maitheya Riva
Regulatory Consultant, RINA
- EU RoHS exemption impacts to business
- Regulatory divergence between EU and UK RoHS
- Future implications of RoHS and its regulatory updates.
14.20 Why overcoming the challenges and achieving environmental materials compliance is pivotal to a good sustainability performance and the success of a global engineering company
Andrew Sheward
Process Automation, Measurement Analytics (PAMA) - Global Division Health Safety Environment & Sustainability, ABB
- Sustainability performance
- Embracing environmental material compliance within a maturing sustainability culture
- The challenges of a global manufacturing environment and a global market when implementing globally diverse legislation
- Tips on how an organisation can turn challenges into opportunities for many stakeholders.
14.50 What you need to know about the new EU General Product Safety Regulations
Kelly Bugiera
Senior Regulatory Compliance Specialist, Compliance & Risks
- Background – why was this revision to GPSD, (EU) 2023/988, needed?
- What does this new Regulation apply to?
- What are some changes to general product safety requirements in the EU?
- What does this mean to industry?
- How will the UK handle general product safety?
15.20 Panel discussion
15.30 Refreshments
Chair Louise Forrest
Kennedys Law
16.00 EU Machinery – From a directive to a regulation
Liz Kimber
Principal Regulatory Consultant, RINA
- Current status of the legislation
- Reason for the change
- What the new requirements are and the potential implications for economic operators
- Next steps.
16.30 Artificial intelligence and product safety: Technical and legal perspectives
James Eager
Associate Partner, Centre for Strategy & Evaluation Services (CSES)
- Overview of “Study on the Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Product Safety”
- Technical and legal findings of research
- Subsequent development in the UK and EU industrial product policy and legislative contexts.
17.00 PRISM: The new product safety risk assessment methodology
Katherine Forrest
Risk Manager, Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS)
-Introduction to the methodology, the basis for replacing Rapex for GB product safety assessors and the key differences between Rapex and PRISM
- An overview of how PRISM is performing almost one year since it launched
- A look ahead at the future of PRISM: Iterations for product/hazard specific matters, and improvements V1 of PRISM.
17.30 Panel discussion
17.40 Close
19.15 Drinks reception
20.00 Conference dinner
08.45 Registration and refreshments
Chair Steve Pearson
Principal Consultant, Safeguard Engineering Limited (SEL)
09.00 Acquisition and defence maritime regulation
Penny Sykes
Head of Regulations, Defence Maritime Regulator (DMR)
- Who are the Defence Safety Authority (DSA) and the Defence Maritime Regulator (DMR)
- What do we do and how do we do it?
- Why do we care about product compliance?
- What are our current areas of concern?
09.40 Recommended improvements for accreditation and market surveillance
Andy Evans
Technical Director, GAMBICA
- The amended legislative framework
- Electronic labelling & the Digital Product Passport
- Mutual Recognition Agreement.
10.10 The EU’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) (r)evolution: Keep up!
Peter Sellar
Partner EU Regulatory Law, Fieldfisher
- Provide an understanding of the new approach that the EU is taking to environmental regulations
- Regulatory overview of the various EU proposals that have recently been made regarding the environmental aspects of E&E products (ecodesign, batteries, Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), Green claims) as well as the social (deforestation, forced labour) and governmental (reporting) aspects
- Message on what industry can do to keep up with these groundbreaking regulatory changes.
10.40 Panel discussion
10.50 Refreshments
Chair Paul Waide
Director, Waide Strategic Efficient Europe Ltd
11.20 UK ecodesign and energy labelling policy
Arthur Montagu
Head of Energy-related Products Policy, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
- UK policy objectives and wider considerations for manufacturers
- Products currently under consideration for new and/or revised requirements and what these might entail
- Impacts and how industry can prepare.
11.50 Online energy labelling in the UK and EU
Nicole Kearney
Director – CLASP Europe
- Impact of online labelling on policy outcomes, given increasing rate of online purchases
- Findings from online labelling compliance studies in the UK and EU
- What government and industry can do to support the green transition through online sales, empowering consumers to make efficient product purchases.
12.20 What can repair cafés teach us about circular design in our products?
Professor Martin Charter
Director, The Centre for Sustainable Design® (CfSD), Research & Innovation, Business School for the Creative Industries, University for the Creative Arts
- The UK repair café network, learning from the data, benefits (social, material, financial)
- Progress on legislation and standardisation on circularity UK and EU (material efficiency, reparability, product circularity data sheets, etc.)
- Learning points for product manufacturers.
12.50 Panel discussion
13.00 Lunch
Chair Dr Chris Robertson
Head of Product Regulatory Compliance, RINA
14.00 Critical minerals and developing responsible supply chains?
Jeff Townsend
Founder, Critical Minerals Association
14.30 A look at the EU’s new batteries regulation
Dr Alex Martin
Principal Regulatory Consultant, RINA
- Why has a new EU law been adopted?
- The new requirements, powers and responsibilities that are now enshrined in EU
law
- How the law regulates industrial and electric vehicle batteries differently to
portable batteries
- Conformity assessment and economic operator obligations
- Portable battery supply and use requirements in summary.
15.00 WEEE regulations: An overview of future reforms
Matthew Stocks
Senior Policy Adviser – WEEE Regulations, Product Regulation and Producer Responsibility Team, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra)
- Wider policy context
- The case for change
- Government proposals for reform and timelines.
15.30 UK Packaging Producer Responsibility Reform: an overview of past, present and future policy
George Atkinson
Head of Policy, Valpak
- A brief overview of current packaging producer responsibility rules in the UK
- Core aspects of the government and devolved administrations’ plans for introducing new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
- A look ahead to what is still to come for the reforms and how it’ll impact those affected
- How Valpak are assisting affected businesses in complying with the regulatory changes and making their packaging portfolios leaner and greener.
16.00 Panel discussion
16.10 Close and refreshments
You can download the 2023 programme here
As I expand my product coverage, I need to update my knowledge of how specific regulations impact a variety of products. RINA was recommended as a way to expand my expertise. I found that the mix of topics to be very helpful – particularly the mix of existing regulations and their updates and introductions to new and emerging regulations. Additionally, the focus of the regulation conversation specific to the EU/UK allowed for a large amount of information to be shared in a short amount of time. The conference itself – location, food, IT infrastructure, and venue were some of the best I’ve experienced in a conference setting. – Laura Clendenin, Eaton.
A rare opportunity to learn from subject matter experts and discuss compliance issues with peers in pleasant and comfortable surroundings – Andy Evans, GAMBICA.
A great forum for keeping pace with the ever-growing challenge of regulatory compliance and an invaluable opportunity to share in some extensive knowledge and experience. Well done RINA! – Matt Cogill, Rotork.
Excellent seminar - I enjoy the technical & professional update on very complex regulations! – Amel Meddour, Schlumberger.
The experience was incredibly insightful and relevant to key compliance issues facing manufacturers & suppliers. Such as ourselves, with concise & up to date guidance from industry experts that we will most definitely be applying with the next year. - Samuel Gagrica, RS Group.
