Chemical Purchasing

Updated to improve clarity, align with the ZDHC Supplier to Zero (StZ) V2 requirements, and strengthen guidance. Updates include revised terminology and explanations, the addition of guidance on virgin and non-virgin commodity chemicals and recording chemical lot/batch numbers, a new requirement for facilities to use ZDHC MRSL conformant chemicals (including solvents and other chemical substances), correction of a spelling error and restructuring the requirements from two to four to align with StZ V2.

Requirement wording updated to align with StZ V2 requirements

Previous requirements:

1. Develop a chemical purchasing policy

2. Record all chemicals purchased in the ZDHC CIL and keep it updated

Updated requirements:

1. The facility has a chemical purchasing policy

2. The facility implements a due diligence system for evaluating and selecting commodity chemical suppliers for restricted substance risk

3. The facility uses ZDHC MRSL-conformant solvents and chemical substances

4. The facility maintains a Chemical Inventory List, or equivalent records, for all production chemicals

Explanations and examples for “solvents and other chemicals” were added to improve clarity.

This adds clarity to the explanation of the solvents and other chemicals. This also aligns with the information given in the CIL template.

An explanation of the new requirement, “The facility uses ZDHC MRSL conformant chemicals,” has been added.

Facilities should maintain a complete understanding of the ZDHC MRSL conformance of all chemical formulations used within their operations. This begins by requesting and maintaining current ZDHC MRSL conformance information from chemical suppliers for every formulation in the facility's Chemical Inventory List.

Guidance on virgin and non-virgin commodity chemicals is added.

This addition introduces a risk-based classification of commodity chemicals into Virgin (V) and Non-virgin (NV) categories, helping suppliers better understand and manage the potential risk of ZDHC MRSL contamination. It also strengthens purchasing due diligence and supports more effective root cause analysis of wastewater non-conformities by promoting informed sourcing decisions and supplier evaluation.