From Evidence to Policy: Toward a Tox-free Living Environment
Conference
18 November, 2025 Brussels
We need systemic change to protect people and the planet from harmful chemicals. This requires consumers, businesses and decision makers at the local level to prioritize toxic-free products, and supportive policies that fundamentally limit the presence of harmful substances in products.
About the event
Partners of the projects LIFE ChemBee, ToxFree LIFE For All and INTERREG NonHazCity 3 cordially invite you to Brussels to join our conference and share evidence on consumer exposure to harmful chemicals in various settings, pilot case studies and examples on how to work toward detoxifying our direct living environment.
Keynotes and panels will discuss and propose chemicals policy changes to ensure that the health of Europeans is protected from hazardous substances in their everyday lives.
Conference
18 November, 2025 9:30 to 16:30 Kartuizercenter, Brussels
Keynote speakers
Pelle Moos PhD
PhD, Senior Advisor at BEUC (The European Consumer Organization), Chemicals Policy and Product Safety
Pelle Moos has over 10 years’ experience working on chemicals policy, first as a researcher specializing in nanotech and regulatory politics – and since 2015 as a public affairs practitioner focusing on consumer protection and product regulation. Currently, he work as senior advisor at BEUC, where he leads on advocacy, manage projects, support member campaigns, develop policy reports, and – best of all – engage with decisionmakers and stakeholders to drive change that matters to people and our planet.
Prof. Dr. Martin Scheringer
Masaryk University
Martin Scheringer is a professor of environmental chemistry at Masaryk University and works in the research program on Environmental Chemistry and Modeling at RECETOX. He also works as a senior scientist at ETH Zurich in Switzerland. He holds a diploma in chemistry from the Johannes-Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany, and a doctoral degree and a habilitation from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich, Switzerland. He has worked for almost 30 years in the fields of environmental and human exposure assessment, environmental persistence and long-range transport of organic chemicals, and chemical risk and hazard assessment and has developed a suite of environmental fate models and human pharmacokinetic models.
Dr. Aleksandra Rutkowska
Co-founder of a start-up DETOXED
She studies the influence of endocrine active compounds (ED) on health disorders. She is the author of the position of the Polish Society of Endocrinology on these compounds. She created and coordinates a nationwide campaign to fight the polycystic ovary syndrome and the Detoxed Lifestyle Challenge campaign, which reduces human exposure to endocrine active substances. She co-created three patent applications and an analyzer for detecting ED in drinking water and wastewater. She is a laureate of many international scientific conferences, a scholarship holder of the Danish Novo Nordisk pharmaceutical concert and winner of the Red Rose award for the best scientific club in the Tri-City.
The Program
MORNING SESSIONS 9:30 – 12:00
Welcome address
Project Leaders and Funder(s).
Manuel Montero Ramirez, CINEA Project Advisor
Keynote presentations
Aleksandra Rutkowska DETOXED: Health implications – EDCs exposure from our indoor environments
Prof. Martin Scheringer, EHT Zurich: The current systematic flaws of chemicals regulation
Panel discussion
CONSUMER MATTERS: Informed Consumer Choice – not so easy and not for everyone?
The CheckED app provides compelling evidence that consumers are eager to make healthier choices, opting for green products and transforming their homes to be toxics-free. Yet, our reach is still limited to a fraction of EU citizens. What does it take to detoxify the majority of European homes?
Heidrun Fammler, Baltic Environmental Forum, Germany – moderator
Susana Fonseca, ZERO, Portugal
Maria Hammarling, Swedish Consumer Association, Sweden
AFTERNOON SESSIONS 12:45 – 16:30
Keynote presentation
Pelle Moos (BEUC): The current regulatory framework gaps from the consumers’ perspective
Panel discussions
THE CONSUMER MANDATE: Evidence for Comprehensive Chemical Bans in the EU Policy
Consumers urgently need and want access to safe products, yet harmful substances are still alarmingly present in everyday items. What should be the priority for the upcoming revision of EU chemicals legislation?
Karolina Brabcova, Arnika, Czechia – moderator
Thomas Jakl, Deputy Director General, Austrian Environment Ministry, Austria
Oldrich Jarolim, Czech Inspectorate of Environmental Protection, Czechia
Paul Speight, Head of Unit Safe & Sustainable Chemicals (ENV.C.4)
TOX-FREE BY DESIGN: Phasing Out Harmful Substances from Construction Materials
This session will explore the presence of hazardous chemicals in building materials, examining their health and policy implications. The panel will share NHC3 project results, discuss the Swedish BVB system’s role in safer construction, and address consumer issues like ecolabels, product markings, and material transparency.
Eugeniy Lobanov, Coalition Clean Baltic, Sweden – moderator
Mecki Naschke, World Future Council Foundation, Germany
Grazvydas Jegelevicius, Baltic Environmental Forum, Lithuania
Ilze Neimane, Ecodesign Competence Center, Latvia
There will be a poster session during the day.
