NCMT, Bellona and NILU are pleased to invite you to the multi-stakeholder forum: Finding Solutions for Chemicals in Plastics, to be held in Oslo on October 1, 2026, from 11.30 - 17.30. The meeting will take place at the venue Sixa Conference, located next to the Opera of Oslo, and the entrance is free due to sponsorship from The Norwegian Research Council and The Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund. 

Driven by the Global Plastics Treaty, evolving European chemical regulations, and recent research publications, the event aims to bring together key players from industry with policy makers and researchers in chemistry and materials science across Europe.

All three groups mentioned above, will be present both at the stage and in the audience, giving participants the opportunity to increase both their knowledge and their network.

Our goal is to foster dialogue, highlight ongoing industrial development, and identify critical research needs — all within the context of our current global situation and economy.

Emphasizing knowledge exchange over traditional one-way presentations, the forums format encourages interactive discussions between speakers and participants.

Sign up here

 

The program:

11:30-12:30	Registration and lunch
12:30-13:45	Opening session - industry and chemical handling and compliance
12:30	Introduction to the event	The hosts: Bellona, NILU & NCMT
12:40	Responsible care of chemicals in plastics. Beyond compliance: function, evidence and trust	Hans Ketelslegers, Director of Safe and Sustainable Plastics, Plastics Europe
13:00	Competitiveness and Compliance in Europe	Rodney Ishak, Regional Manager, Ineos Invoyn
13:20	Challenges with chemical compliance from a medium size manufacturer.	Stefanie Römhild, Team Lead Material Development and Support, Amiblu
13:40-14:00	Break
14:00-15:20	Deep dives Plastics and chemicals - researchers
14:00	Unpacking the PlastChem Database and its Real-World Impact	Raoul Wolf, NGI
14:15	The Industry Reality Check: Safe Plastics and the Data Dispute	Thor Kamfjord, Norner
14:30	Regulatory intentions vs environmental evidence; where is the gap?	Cathrine Brecke Gundersen, NIVA
14:45	Using Human Chemical Exposure Data as a Toolbox to Regulate The Right Chemicals.	Amrit Kaur Sakhi, FHI
15:00	Panel discussions with researchers	Led by Christian Borch
15:20-15:40	Break
15:40-16:30	Chemicals, plastics and policymaking: How do we both get going and doing it right from the start?
15:40	A Norwegian take on chemicals and plastics in the light of The Global Plastics Treaty and the development of European legislation	Kristoffer Hansen, State Secretary of the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment
16:00	The road from research to regulation	Gro Haarklou Mathisen, The Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM)
16.20	Panel talk	Tonje Hagen Geiran (Wikborg Rein), Sveinung Rotevatn (Bellona), Gro Haarklou Mathisen (VKM)
16:45	Synthesis & closing talk: Seeing chemicals in plastics in a bigger sustainability perspective	NCMT, NILU, Bellona
17:00-18:30	Drinks and networking

 

More about the researchers:

Science should drive policy and industrial innovation, but what happens when different perspectives don't align, and research becomes disputed? In this session, leading researchers step out of the lab to tackle the hard facts about chemicals in plastics, challenge prevailing narratives, and outline the regulations that will actually make a difference.

• Unpacking the PlastChem Database and its Real-World Impact
  Raoul Wolf (NGI) will present the core findings of the PlastChem database and report. Beyond the raw data, he will focus on what this database actually contributes to "the real world," providing actionable insights into how these findings are shaping the current European regulatory landscape.
• The Industry Reality Check: Safe Plastics and the Data Dispute
  Thor Kamfjord (Norner) will provide a strong counter-perspective, advocating that plastics can indeed be manufactured safely without leaching hazardous chemicals. Working directly alongside the industry to develop low-emission materials. Drawing on Norner's work directly alongside the industry to develop low-emission materials, he will explain why Norner’s own research demonstrates that the PlastChem report does not paint an accurate picture of current industrial capabilities and material safety.
• Regulatory intentions vs environmental evidence; where is the gap?
  Cathrine Brecke Gundersen (NIVA) will put the regional debate into a broader, complicating global context. She will explain how the physical distribution of materials makes chemical control significantly harder. Even as European industries transition to highly regulated, safe plastics, non-compliant materials from regions with weaker controls continue to spread globally—both through human trade and ocean currents—impacting local environments and complicating compliance efforts.
• Using Human Chemical Exposure Data as a Toolbox to Regulate The Right Chemicals.
  Amrit Kaur Sakhi (FHI) will ground the discussion in public health by presenting data and findings from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health on human chemical exposure. She will outline how this exposure data can serve as a valuable tool to understand plastic-related chemical challenges and why this is relevant for policymakers, researchers, and industry.