Polestar joins ChemSec Group to change the way the car industry tackles chemicals 

Swedish electric car company Polestar is the newest member in the Business Group of environmental NGO ChemSec. As the only automotive company in the group, Polestar now joins the likes of Apple, Adidas and other big brands. 

The ChemSec Business Group is a collaboration among companies working together to inspire concrete progress on toxic use reduction. It gathers market-leading companies across a diversity of sectors for the development of effective corporate practices in the substitution of hazardous substances. It also raises public awareness of companies’ efforts to be drivers on this issue.

The automotive sector is a large user of chemicals due to the complexity of the products and the amount of chemicals involved in the production processes. Plastics, coatings, and various adhesives are just a few of the chemical components that go into a car. In fact, about 10 per cent of the global chemical sales goes to the automotive industry. And since most of these chemicals are hazardous to human health and nature in some way, it’s imperative that the car industry transition to safer alternatives.

The shift from internal combustion engines (ICE) to electrical creates an additional challenge for the industry as it will require large changes in the chemicals needed.

“ChemSec is very excited to welcome the EV manufacturer Polestar as our newest Business Group member. As a fairly young company, Polestar has the opportunity to really create a sustainable and progressive chemicals management policy from the start. We look forward to following them on that journey”, commented Jonatan Kleimark, project manager of the ChemSec Business Group. 

“Safer chemicals are a priority for Polestar, and we appreciate ChemSec’s approach to push for improved EU chemicals policy, and to provide companies with concrete tools and guidance to accelerate the shift to safer chemicals. We are proud to join the ChemSec Business Group as the first automotive company and we believe the membership will help us advance our own chemical policy as well as to drive change within our industry,” said Fredrika Klarén, Head of Sustainability at Polestar.