ChemSelect – assessing the sustainability of chemicals | Umweltbundesamt

ChemSelect users can quickly gain an impression of the sustainability of their chemicals (substances or mixtures) with just a few entries. The results are presented in a simple way using the traffic light colours green, yellow and red. Scientists/researchers or authorities can also use the tool, for example for sustainability screening.

What can ChemSelect do?

• 9 criteria are used to assess whether substances or mixtures are sustainable.
• Alternatives can be compared (substances or mixtures) to check which are the most sustainable.
• The results can be shared with customers.
• The substitutability of chemicals can be gauged.

How does ChemSelect work?

ChemSelect is available free of charge either as an online application or as an application that users can download at their server (see section "Download").
A dialogue guides the user through the process of entering the necessary information about the chemicals to be assessed. Much of the information can be taken from the safety data sheet; other information must be researched or, if necessary, be requested from the supplier. A good source of data is the ECHA substance database.

ChemSelect also helps to bridge data gaps with pragmatic approaches. After each entry, the sustainability rating for the respective criteria is displayed in the form of traffic light colours red/yellow/green.

ChemSelect provides an overview of all criteria by creating a sustainability profile. It is able to compare substances or mixtures and rank them based on their sustainability. If required, a summary can also be generated, which reduces the results of the assessment to 6 aspects.
For non-sustainable substances or mixtures, ChemSelect can be used to estimate if alternatives are available.

Try out ChemSelect

How does the evaluation of substances work?

There are 9 so-called main criteria, most of which are divided into several sub-criteria:

• Mention on lists of problematic substances
• Physical-chemical properties
• Human toxicity
• Environmental toxicity
• Exposure potential
• Climate impact and ozone depletion potential
• Resource consumption
• Circularity
• Responsibility of the supplier

The data entered for each chemical is compared with the indicators stored in ChemSelect, resulting in the evaluation colour.

How does the assessment of mixtures work?

The assessment of a mixture begins with the entry of its composition, if known (from the safety data sheet). It may be neces¬sary to request information from the supplier in order to identify at least some additional ingredients and reduce uncertainties in the assessment.
The criteria "PC properties" and "supplier responsibility" are applied to the mixture. The other criteria are assessed on the basis of the evaluations of the ingredients. These evaluations are weighted by concentration. A sustainability profile, a sustainability comparison and a summary can also be created for a mixture.

Download of ChemSelect

ChemSelect is not only available as an online-application, but can also be downloaded as a Docker image or as a Debian programme package. This option can be attractive for companies that do not want their data to be stored and processed on the Internet. If the company has a suitable IT environment, it can install ChemSelect on its own server.
Here you will find a Docker image for download as well as instructions on how to install it.
Those interested in using the Debian programme package can find the installation and configuration instructions here.

What help is available for ChemSelect?

There is no manual for ChemSelect! Instead, the application is intuitive and can both guide user through the selection of entries and suggest sources of information for research.

Help comes in two forms:

• A help text pops up by clicking on the “small red i”.
• The “small blue i on a yellow background” represents a permanent help text, which explains how the programme works, among other features.
• An exclamation mark in a purple triangle assesses whether further input is needed.

These examples show how ChemSelect is used. They contain various explanations of what information can be entered and how.

The assessment concept describes which indicators and calculation methods are used in ChemSelect.

Explanatory videos

The ChemSelect explanatory videos provide an overview of the tool as well as tips on how to optimise it. The evaluation concept is also explained. You can download three explanatory videos:

• Introduction to ChemSelect
• Tutorial Exposure
• Tutorial Mixtures

Limitations of ChemSelect

Active substances in pesticides and pharmaceuticals should not be evaluated with ChemSelect.
The assessment of the exposure potential is not suitable for nanomaterials.
If you do not obtain clear-cut results from comparisons, you should use other methods for a more refined evaluation, such as to make a decision on alternatives.
If you are missing data, the assessment with ChemSelect is also subject to a great deal of uncertainty. In these cases, however, other instruments are also not meaningful.
ChemSelect is not suitable for displaying minor differences in the sustainability of substances and mixtures. The assessment method and subdivision into just three categories (red/yellow/green) are too broad for this.

ChemSelect in 10 languages

ChemSelect is available in 10 languages; the help function, however, is in English only. The selection bar (bottom left) can be used to switch to another language at any time while working with ChemSelect.

ChemSelect was originally created in English. Some translations may be inaccurate. In these cases, you should temporarily switch to the English version.
If you notice any ambiguities in the texts, please inform us by e-mail (chemselect[at]uba.de) with a reference to the passage (e.g. which evaluation criterion), preferably with a formulation suggestion.