SETAC Principles – A Personal Reflection After One Year of Presidency
Mirco Bundschuh, Immediate Past President of SETAC Europe Council
One of the founding principles of SETAC, is tripartite representation, which refers to the desire to include equal representation in activities from three main sectors at SETAC (the Society): Academia, business and government. In 2018, the SETAC World Council expanded how the principle was articulated recognizing the evolution of our field and the desire to be more inclusive. The principle to which the society remains committed, has since been stated as a balance in participation and involvement of stakeholders from all sectors, including the three aforementioned plus others, such as associations and intergovernmental agencies. But what does that mean? How does it affect the operations and decisions of the Society?
You may wonder why I am dedicating my traditional “goodbye article” as outgoing president of SETAC Europe to the topic of “sectoral balance.” Well, during the SETAC Europe 33rd Annual Meeting, I personally heard directly, had reported by others and read on social media, statements expressing bias and highlighting a lack of trust in representatives of certain sector(s). I think such generalizations need reflection.
The consequence of inviting participants from all sectors to the table is that there may be a (mis)perception that the interest of any given sector will interfere with the goals of the Society. These perceptions may cause confusion and are based on mistrust. One plenary speaker, Anja Gladbach, highlighted some important points about this issue and the challenges involved in building or re-building trust. With a long-term goal to break down barriers, Gladbach gave details about Bayer’s Transparency Initiative, which serves a wonderful example of a trust-building initiative, but progress towards “attitude change” is slow and incremental, requiring sustained effort. The adherence to the tripartite principle when planning plenaries at the meeting so that there were contributions of representatives from academia (Peter Fantke, Technical University of Denmark), government (Pamela Byrne, Food Safety Authority of Ireland), and business (Anja Gladback, Bayer CropScience), enriched the discussion around the meeting’s theme, “Data-driven environmental decision-making.”
What does the tripartite structure mean for the Society? From my perspective, it enriches discussions and challenges our ability to find consensus. SETAC benefits from the different sets of expertise that are available from all sectors, as does each member (well, at least I did), for example, on the leading body of SETAC Europe, the Council.
It is true that most of the participants in the SETAC Europe partner program are from the business sector (i.e., smaller and larger companies), and their contributions ensure a certain financial flexibility for the society’s operations that we all benefit from. Each and every member contributes financially to the Society with their membership fees and meeting attendance registration, also contributing financially to the Society and supporting SETAC together. More importantly, there are numerous ways to contribute toward achieving SETAC’s mission “to support and facilitate the development of principles and practices for the protection, enhancement and management of sustainable environmental quality and ecosystem integrity.” Those non-financial contributions can include the organization of and participation in SETAC interest groups, committees, governmental bodies (e.g., board of directors or council), sessions at annual meetings, editorial tasks and many more.
The SETAC Europe Council, as the governmental entity of one geographic unit under the umbrella of global SETAC, develops a strategic plan and allocates resources to specific initiatives that are all dedicated to advancing the mission. United by this common goal, the Council aims for consensus and ensures that the diversity of needs and perspectives are met. The same procedure is followed in many other committees, including scientific and steering committees who organize SETAC meetings, workshops and interest groups; all with the aim to be transparent, integrative and inclusive, striving for equity, sustainability, cooperation and dialogue.
The balanced participation principle, steeped in the tripartite principle, makes SETAC a truly unique society and, as such, a valuable partner and resource for other international organizations, including the European Commission through the high-level round table on the implementation of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) as part of the Stakeholder Bureau, as well as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Science Policy Panel. At the same time, the structure can create challenges, particularly if mistrust dominates. I am not saying we should not be critical about statements from whatever direction they come – it is rather the opposite: in the light of our own biases, we need to be critical, but we should also acknowledge excellence, irrespective of the sector, as this is the only way to advance science and society – we need diversity, equity and inclusivity at multiple dimensions.
Author’s contact: Mirco Bundschuh, [email protected]
