What Is the ECHA SCIP Database and Who Needs to Report on It?

Article Highlights:

• The SCIP database is a database with information on Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC) designed to help waste operators and citizens better understand how to responsibly use and dispose of products containing SVHCs.
• As of  January 5, 2021, businesses that produce, import, or supply goods containing SVHCs above certain thresholds are required to submit information on those products to the SCIP database. 
• Goods in the EU market containing any substance of very high concern in a concentration that exceeds .1% weight by weight (w/w) must be reported on the SCIP database. 
• SCIP is enforced at the national level, with potential fines of up to one million EUR and a potential prison sentence of five years. 
• The SCIP database currently contains over 15 million notifications.

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is responsible for regulating the use of chemicals in the European Union (EU). ECHA does this by administering a number of directives, including the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), and the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). A significant part of the compliance process for businesses adhering to these regulations involves submitting critical information to a database known as the Substances of Concern In articles as such or in complex objects (Products)—a verbose mouthful that’s otherwise known as SCIP. But what is this ECHA database, who is responsible for reporting to it, and what type of data are in-scope businesses required to submit?

What Is ECHA?

Let’s start by looking at the regulatory body behind the SCIP database. 

The European Chemicals Agency was originally established by the European Union in 2007 to administer REACH, a landmark environmental regulation that regulates chemical use in the EU. ECHA’s chief objectives are to protect human health and the environment by regulating chemical use in the EU’s 27 member nations. The agency is guided by a vision for “Chemical safety through science, collaboration and knowledge.”

More specifically, ECHA is responsible for:

• Implementing the EU’s chemicals regulations and policies.
• Applying scientific expertise and conducting the requisite research to provide unbiased decisions that inform EU chemical and environmental legislation. 
• Supporting businesses in their efforts to achieve compliance with REACH, RoHS, and other key chemical regulations. 
• Maintaining databases and other repositories of information so that data on chemical use in the EU is always available to the public. 

What Is the SCIP Database?

The SCIP database is a database with information on Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC) designed to help waste operators and citizens better understand how to responsibly use and dispose of products containing SVHCs. The database was established by ECHA as part of complying with the Waste Framework directive (WFD), a 2008 EU measure that aims to improve waste management and sustainable resource practices. 

The SCIP database is a database with information on Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC) designed to help waste operators and citizens better understand how to responsibly use and dispose of products containing SVHCs.

As of January 5, 2021, businesses that produce, import, or supply goods containing SVHCs above certain thresholds became required to submit information on those products to the SCIP database. 

What Are Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC)?

Substances of Very High Concern are substances that have been deemed hazardous to human health or the environment. SVHCs may increase a person’s chances of developing cancer; lower their fertility; persist in air, water, and soil for long periods of time; or accumulate in living organisms (a process known as bioaccumulation). In order to become a SVHC, a substance must possess one or more of the following harmful characteristics (these criteria are outlined in Article 57 of REACH):

• Carcinogenic
• Mutagenic (capable of triggering genetic mutations)
• Toxic to reproduction
• Persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT)
• Very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB)
• Adverse effects on human health and/or the environment that are determined to rise to an “equivalent level of concern.”

Both EU member states and ECHA have the ability to propose substances for inclusion on the SVHC Candidate List (which we discussed at length in a previous post). In order to designate a new substance, a dossier must be prepared—as outlined in REACH Annex XV—that furnishes scientific evidence that the substance in question fulfills one or more of the criteria necessary to become a Substance of Very High Concern. ECHA’s SVHC Candidate List is typically updated twice a year—once in January and once in June. ECHA has a legal responsibility to maintain and update the SVHC list, including by evaluating and responding to proposals for new candidate substances from EU member states. 

In January 2025, ECHA added five new substances to the list. As of March 2025, the total number of SVHCs is 247. 

What’s the Purpose of the SCIP Database?

According to ECHA, the database has a three-fold mandate:

• Drive down the amount of waste generation containing hazardous substances.
• Enhance transparency around waste management for both professionals and consumers.
• Aid ECHA to more effectively monitor products containing SVHCs throughout their lifecycle. 
• Complement the “existing communication and notification obligations for Candidate List substances in articles under REACH.”

Who Needs to Report Data to SCIP?

As of January 5, 2021, businesses that produce, import, or supply goods in the EU market containing any substance of very high concern in a concentration that exceeds .1% weight by weight (w/w) must report it on the SCIP database. (Weight by weight is a chemistry term that refers to the concentration of a substance as calculated by its weight relative to the weight of the entire formulation.)

As of January 5, 2021, businesses that produce, import, or supply goods in the EU market containing any substance of very high concern in a concentration that exceeds .1% weight by weight (w/w) must report it on the SCIP database.

What Exactly Do Companies Need to Report on SCIP?

Organizations supplying any articles in the EU market that meet the threshold outlined above need to report specific information to ECHA via SCIP. This includes:

• Identification of the article
• The particular substance of very high concern in the product formulation
• Concentration
• Location within the article
• Guidelines for waste management

Further guidance on reporting goods to ECHA may be found on the agency’s “How to prepare and submit a SCIP notification” documentation. 

Can Anyone Search the SCIP Database?

SCIP is a public database designed to give anyone the ability to search for products, parts, and other articles. As of March 2025, there are over 15 million notifications in the SCIP database.  

What Are the Penalties for Not Reporting on SCIP?

The SCIP database is regulated and maintained by ECHA. However, as ECHA has no enforcement mechanisms or capabilities, enforcement of the regulation is left up to each 

However, ECHA has no enforcement mechanisms or capabilities, so enforcement is left up to the individual nations. 

At the level of individual EU countries, consequences for SCIP reporting noncompliance range from fines and penalties to criminal prosecution. In Germany, for example, intentional and/or negligent noncompliance with REACH—which includes deliberately failing to report articles to the SCIP database—may result in fines of up to one million EUR and a potential prison sentence of five years. 

In Germany, for example, intentional and/or negligent noncompliance with REACH—which includes deliberately failing to report articles to the SCIP database—may result in fines of up to one million EUR and a potential prison sentence of five years. 

Adhering to EU Regulations Is a Strategic Imperative

The U.S. may be in a period of flux when it comes to environmental regulations, but that does not mean that businesses with international operations can afford to start neglecting compliance obligations. ECHA is a well-resourced agency that the EU has empowered to impose stringent chemical regulations, and companies that sell in any EU member nation need to prioritize adherence to ECHA’s requirements. In the case of SCIP, this means determining whether your products contain any SVHC above the 0.1% w/w threshold, and responding accordingly. Failing to carry out due diligence on your products—or report when legally obligated to do so—could result in not only substantive legal and financial consequences at the national level, but also reputational damage that could taint your brand for years. 

The U.S. may be in a period of flux when it comes to environmental regulations, but that does not mean that businesses with international operations can afford to start neglecting compliance obligations.

A supply chain risk management (SCRM) platform like Z2Data can help businesses navigate their environmental compliance obligations with comprehensiveness and efficiency. Z2Data features out-of-the-box compliance analysis on products, bills of materials (BOMs), and approved vendor lists (AVLs) for regulations ranging from REACH and RoHS to SCIP, California Prop 65, and TSCA. The SCRM software can also help organizations identify SVHCs in their products, determine whether they need to report to the SCIP database, and guide them through the process of submitting the appropriate data and documentation. Finally, businesses can contract Z2Data’s expert team to survey suppliers and achieve the high level of compliance so critical to manufacturing continuity and resilience in today’s regulatory landscape. 

To learn more about the Z2Data platform and how it can help firms understand their compliance obligations and adhere to key regulations, schedule a free demo with one of our product experts.