A/HRC/30/40 and industry stressed the responsibility of industry to make available to stakeholders such data and information on health and environmental effects of chemicals as are needed.62 86. In identifying and assessing adverse impacts, ensuring the integrity of information about hazardous substances has been a reoccurring challenge. In some cases, scientists may not have disclosed financial ties with chemical manufacturers and other possible conflicts of interest when making statements as “independent” scientific experts. In other cases, the integrity of pollution sampling and information monitoring has been of concern. 2. To effectively communicate information 87. There is a shared responsibility between businesses that supply and use hazardous substances to communicate information to determine risks and prevent harm. 63 According to the principles adopted by the American Chemistry Council, companies throughout the chain of commerce should be responsible for providing necessary hazard, use, and exposure information.64 88. Businesses have a responsibility to publicly communicate information about the risks created by their activities and how they mitigate and address both actual and potential human rights impacts with which they might be involved, 65 including businesses that use, produce and release hazardous substances. As indicated by Guiding Principle 21, these communications should: (a) Be of a form and frequency that reflect an enterprise’s human rights impacts and that are accessible to its intended audiences; (b) Provide information that is sufficient to evaluate the adequacy of an enterprise’s response to the particular human rights impact involved; (c) In turn not pose risks to affected stakeholders, personnel or to legitimate requirements of commercial confidentiality. Information about these measures should flow among businesses, as well as from businesses to governmental authorities and the public. 89. Businesses have a responsibility to provide any and all information necessary to respect human rights affected by hazardous substances. To this end, emissions to the environment should not be considered confidential. 66 The Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC)67 industry initiative sees a system like the one of pollutant release and transfer registers as one “that would meet one of the ZDHC key principles of engaging stakeholders to improve the apparel and footwear supply chain system”.68 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 Dubai Declaration on International Chemicals Management, para. 20. ILO Convention No. 170 (1990) concerning Safety in the use of Chemicals at Work. American Chemistry Council, “10 principles for modernizing TSCA [Toxic Substances Control Act]”. Guiding Principle 21. Most businesses obliged to report under the Kiev Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registries do not claim confidentiality very often, and in some countries confidentiality claims are decreasing from year to year. See ECE/MP.PRTR/2014/5, para. 174. See www.roadmaptozero.com/. Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals Programme, Right to Know Disclosure Methodology Research (2014), available from www.roadmaptozero.com/df.php?file=pdf/ RightToKnowDisclosureMethodologies.pdf. 19