Impacts of the REACH candidate list of substan- ces subject to authorisation: The reputation mechanism and empirical results on behavioral adaptations of German supply chain actors

The candidate list of substances subject to authorisation is an instrument provided by the EU chemicals regulation (REACH) to publicly announce and prioritize chemi cal substances of very high concern (SVHC) as a first step of imposing an obligation of authorisation on them, i.e. including them into the authorisation list (Annex XIV of REACH). As a consequence of inclusion into the “candidate list”, a variety of obli gations concerned with intensifying risk communication apply. Article producers, importers and distributors of articles have to communicate information about SVHCs contained in articles and necessary risk management measures to the recipients of the articles and provide this information to consumers on request (Art. 33 REACH). This research paper analyzes the reputational mechanism of the candidate list sho wing a potential to stigmatize not only the substances as such but also various actors of the supply chain associated with these substances and their brands. Drawing on behavioral psychology theories, hypotheses on the reputational impacts of the can didate list on substance manufacturers, downstream users (including formulators and manufacturers of articles) and distributors are derived. These are discussed on the basis of current empirical data surveyed by the European Commission.