ACA Sustainability Report 2022 - Report - Page 50
Economic Contributions, Worker Safety & Partnerships
UN Lead Paint Alliance
Contributor
The World Coatings Council — an
international organization for which
ACA serves as Secretariat — is a formal
contributor to the Lead Paint Alliance (LPA),
an organization established under the United
Nations Environmental Program (UNEP)
and the World Health Organization. Since its
inception in 2010, the LPA has been engaging
national governments, industry, and nongovernmental organizations to establish
restrictions on lead use in paints that pose
public health and environmental risks,
especially to children.
The World Coatings Council’s contribution to
the LPA has been to highlight the widespread
existing restrictions on lead use in paints
and to encourage the adoption of similar
restrictions by governments that currently
have none.
Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI) Support
The Responsible Mica Initiative
(RMI) is a consortium of companies
and NGO partners implementing
strategies to assure fair labor
practices in production of natural
mica for “effect pigments” used
in cosmetics and some paints.
The organization was formed in
2017, based on a long-standing
interest of some members who had
independently initiated programs to
address child labor in the mica supply
chain. Interest was further galvanized
after a report published by the Dutch
NGO TDH (Terre des Hommes)
identified India as the largest global
supply source of natural mica
produced with child labor.
As the LPA continues its efforts to address
lead use in paint and coatings, ACA and the
World Coatings Council will continue working
with other LPA partners to assist in industry
implementation efforts to ensure widespread
and verifiable compliance.
For more information on the LPA and efforts
to seek restrictions on decorative paints, visit
the https://worldcoatingscouncil.org and the
UNEP website.
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TDH’s report called for industries
that use mica to work constructively
in mica-producing regions to
develop a comprehensive strategy
to address labor practices, while
continuing to source from these
regions to provide income in a
low-income area so as not to create
further economic hardship.
ACA and the World Coatings Council
support RMI’s efforts by serving on
the RMI Board and on RMI working
groups that address traceability,
legal and community empowerment
strategies, throughout the mica
supply chain.