Umsetzung einer wirksamen Compliance in globalen Lieferketten am Beispiel der Anforderungen aus der europäischen Chemikalien-Regulierung an die Automobilindustrie

Abstract

This publication based on a master thesis explores the challenges of the automotive industry regarding the European chemical regulations REACH and CLP, as well as potential improvements of the current compliance activities and the related incentives and barriers. It answers the research question: "To what extent should the compliance activities of actors in the automotive supply chain be extended in order to meet the requirements of European chemicals regulation; and where would it help to strengthen incentives in enforcement and the legal framework?“. The study’s structure is based on the transdisciplinary delta analysis of the Society for Institutional Analysis at the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. It compares the target state of the legal requirements and the requirements for corresponding compliance with the actual state of the actual compliance measures of the automotive players and attempts to identify their weak points (the delta). The main sources for the analysis are the legal texts and relevant court decisions as well as guideline-based expert interviews with automotive players based on Gläser & Laudel. As objects of the analysis, there are in addition answers to random enquiries according to Article 33 (2) REACH as well as the recommendations and guidelines of the industry associations. The analysis identifies the transmission of material information in the supply chain as a key problem. The global database system used for this purpose, the IMDS, shows gaps in the framework conditions. This results in compliance risk due to the dynamically developing regulation. In addition, the study identifies an incompliance of the investigated automobile manufacturers with regard to Art. 33 REACH. In answering the research question, the study recommends solutions to the automotive players that extend the current compliance activities. In addition, it offers tables and process flow diagrams, which structure the duties and required compliance measures and may serve as basic audit criteria. The analysis is carried out from an external perspective and looks at the entire industry. It therefore cannot cover all the individual peculiarities of each automotive player. As a result, the identified gaps serve only as indications for possible further compliance risks.