The whole story
The Ctgb (Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides) recently decided that it is more motivated than ever to 'tell the whole story'. For example, we answer questions from industry, consumers and journalists, and we do so openly and transparently. This has been our practice for many years, but we have also noticed that the questions – which are often very specific – lead to explanations with a narrow focus. As a result, we tell only part of our story. For this reason, we have decided to be more proactive in telling the whole story. In doing so, we try to convey our complex work in accessible language and provide more context. The question we ask ourselves is essentially: how do I tell my neighbours about my work? Central to this approach is attention to the whole, multifaceted process. 'Are you mindful of the risk of rat infestation?' – 'Yes, but we also need to look at the environmental risks of the products involved'. 'Do you consider the risks of combinations of products?' – 'We are an implementing agency and we implement EU regulations, but an assessment methodology is not yet available for all issues'. There is a lot of interest in our work. Almost weekly, we are contacted with questions by the media and private citizens. However, our assessments involve complex trade-offs where we have to look at all facets of humans, animals and the environment while taking the prevailing statutory frameworks, standards and endpoints into account. You can't judge the work of the Ctgb based on a single data point, a single animal or a single plant.
To help present the whole story, we therefore decided to produce our own podcast. In the podcast (only in Dutch) Middelen, mensen, milieu (Products, People and the Environment) we tell our story in several episodes. This is the story of the Ctgb as a competent authority dealing with policy provisions, regulations and laws, and the story of biocidal product assessment and plant protection product assessment. In subsequent episodes we also aim to cover more topical issues, but always based on the most complete picture possible.
There is a link to the podcast in this newsletter. If you have time, please listen to an episode. I am open to questions and suggestions. And I would greatly appreciate it if you draw other people's attention to the story of the Ctgb. In this way, you help us tell the whole story.
Ingrid Becks,
Secretary-Director
