Phasing out PFAS in companies

IN DANISH 

As legislation on PFAS becomes stricter in Denmark, the EU, and the US, your company has the opportunity to future-proof your business and secure critical competitive advantages by identifying and phasing out PFAS or replacing it with effective alternatives.

Danish Technological Institute offers three PFAS packages that lower the barriers to action and implementation of long-term PFAS-free solutions. At the same time, you gain access to essential chemical knowledge, accessible decision-making tools, and advanced testing facilities.

Ultimately, it’s about your license to operate. Your market access depends on whether you have control over PFAS. The good news is that it is often relatively easy to find suitable replacements for PFAS. Emil Damgaard-Møller, PFAS Consultant, Danish Technological Institute.

Five PFAS questions your company must be able to answer

How many of the following five questions can your company answer clearly? If you have control over all five, your company is well on its way.

1. Legislation: Do you know what documentation and phase-out requirements for PFAS apply to your company now and in the future, and have you assessed the risks and consequences?
2. Prioritization: Do you know where to begin your PFAS efforts, and do you have the necessary knowledge about where PFAS typically occurs?
3. Suppliers: Have you ensured that you receive reliable information about PFAS content from your suppliers, including those outside the EU and the US?
4. Testing: Do you know how to test your products for PFAS and when it is necessary?
5. Competence: Do you have the chemical expertise required to phase out and substitute PFAS?

If not, read on.

Address PFAS and reap business-critical benefits

There are many compelling reasons why your company should prioritize phasing out PFAS. Here are three of them:

Business: More and more consumers and companies are starting to avoid products containing PFAS, and increasing regulation amplifies the negative perception of companies that continue to use PFAS. The risk of being rejected is particularly high if you, as a supplier, cannot adequately account for your use of PFAS, have not taken steps to phase it out, or lack reliable PFAS documentation from your suppliers. By addressing PFAS, you enhance your reputation, future-proof your business, and potentially gain significant competitive advantages.

Legislation: The use of PFAS is increasingly regulated in Denmark, the EU, and the US. Denmark has already implemented bans on PFAS in food packaging (2022), firefighting foam (2024), and clothing and textiles (2026). In 2024-25, many US states will require all companies to declare the PFAS content in their products. By addressing PFAS in your company, you mitigate the risk of legal violations, fines, and lawsuits in a market characterized by increasing regulation and bans on PFAS.

Responsibility: Science has long known that PFAS is a group of substances that accumulate permanently in nature, animals, and humans – and there is solid evidence of their health hazards, including liver damage, fertility problems, and cancer. By addressing PFAS in your company, you take responsibility for both employee safety, health, and the surrounding environment.

Phasing out PFAS is complex – but one thing is easy

Phasing out PFAS from products and processes can be a complex task, depending on how many and how complex your company’s products are.

The challenges are varied and typically lie at the edge or entirely outside of your company’s core competencies:

• Lack of knowledge about legal requirements in Denmark and abroad
• Insufficient chemical expertise
• Risks associated with integrating new materials and substances into a production setup
• Unreliable information about PFAS from suppliers
• Lack of options for testing and validating new PFAS-free solutions

However, one aspect of working with PFAS is easy: Once you have gained an overview and knowledge about PFAS in your company, it is often surprisingly easy to phase out these substances and find good alternatives.

CASE: Danish Technological Institute develops groundbreaking PFAS-free textile proofing with Guardian.

Get help towards a future without PFAS

At Danish Technological Institute, we understand the complexity of turning the desire to phase out PFAS into concrete action. We aim to lower the barrier for action in your company by providing cross-disciplinary expertise in chemistry, materials, testing, and production. This means we can guide your company safely through every phase.

We have organized our services into three packages – Overview, Mapping, and Substitution, each paving the way for a future without PFAS in your company.

• Outcome: Workshop that provides an overview of current and upcoming PFAS legislation that may affect your license to operate. Knowledge about where it makes sense to look for PFAS in your company. Tools that prepare you to identify and map PFAS. Insights that facilitate dialogue with suppliers.
• Duration: 2-3 weeks
• Investment: EUR 4,000-8,000 depending on company size. EUR 4,000 for SMEs, EUR 8,000 for larger companies.

• Outcome: Independent third-party mapping of PFAS in the company. Quick and efficient execution of the mapping. Paves the way for a focused PFAS effort. Introduction to AI-based software that future-proofs your products concerning upcoming PFAS legislation. Insights that facilitate dialogue with suppliers.
• Duration: 2-5 months
• Investment: EUR 25,000-250,000 depending on scope and complexity + company engagement. EUR 25,000 for SMEs with 10 products, EUR 250,000 for large companies with billion turnovers and 100+ products.

• Outcome: Screening of the market for available alternatives to PFAS. Identification and risk assessment of possible alternatives to a PFAS product, including design changes that enable the phase-out of PFAS. Preparation of a specification of requirements. Thorough risk assessment of each technology, providing a solid basis for decision-making regarding which technology is most likely to work. A fail-fast action plan that ensures progress. Access to laboratories and advanced testing facilities at Danish Technological Institute. Tailored substitution tool for your products.
• Duration: 2-12 months
• Investment: EUR 3,000-70,000 depending on scope and complexity.

Contact us about PFAS

The effort to phase out and replace PFAS is individual for each company. So, contact us for a discussion on how we can help you move forward.