Who we are
We are a group of global flame retardant manufacturers and users committed to fire safety and improving the health and environmental profiles of our products.
pinfa is the Phosphorus, Inorganic and Nitrogen Flame Retardants Association and is a Sector Group within Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council. We are a Brussels-based association, representing the manufacturers and users of non-halogenated phosphorus, inorganic and nitrogen flame retardants (PIN FRs).
share the common vision of continuously improving the environmental and health profile of their flame retardant products. This vision is coupled with a commitment to maintain high fire safety standards across the world, standards which minimise the risk of fire to the general public. pinfa members seek to dialogue with the users of PIN FRs in order to identify their needs and technologies they are looking for.
pinfa also co-operates with national & supranational organisations (EU, OECD, United Nations), and other industry associations, consumer organisations & non-governmental organisations to ensure the development of scientific knowledge related to the whole life cycle of PIN FRs. We work in close cooperation with our sister association pinfa North America, the North American Phosphorus, Inorganic and Nitrogen Flame Retardants Association located in the USA.
We share the common vision of continuously improving the environmental and health profile of their flame retardant products. This vision is coupled with a commitment to maintain high fire safety standards across the world, standards which minimise the risk of fire to the general public.
"Since November 2016, I am chairman of pinfa and very proud to take over that role from Michael Klimes. Being involved in the formation of pinfa and having worked closely with my engaged colleagues and friends in pinfa has been an exciting journey, which without doubts will continue. We strive to improve the image of flame retardants and explain the benefits that PIN flame retardants bring to the safety of products and society as a whole. If you are interested to learn more about flame retardants and pinfa, please get in touch!” Adrian Beard works for Clariant Corporation, Hurth near Cologne in Germany, as Head of Marketing and Advocacy for the Flame Retardants Business Line of the Business Unit Additives. He is also a senior expert in fire safety and environmental properties of phosphorus based flame retardants. From 1991 to 1999, before joining Clariant, he was head of the environmental analytical laboratory at the Fraunhofer-Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology in Oberhausen, Germany. He holds a doctorate in analytical chemistry from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada and a diploma in geo-ecology from the University of Bayreuth, Germany."
– Dr. Adrian Beard (Clariant AG)
Chairman of pinfa Europe
“Fires are an ever-present risk in our daily lives, yet many of us never encounter their devastating effects. This is largely due to ongoing efforts to minimize fire hazards through prevention and mitigation. Sustainable flame retardants play a crucial role in enhancing fire safety, helping to prevent fires and reduce their impact, thus safeguarding both lives and property.” Esther Agyeman-Budu has worked at Cefic since 2013 and has been the Sector Group Manager of pinfa since 2019."
– Esther Agyeman-Budu (Cefic)
Sector Group Manager of pinfa
Working Structure
The pinfa Working Structure is designed to fit stakeholders needs and to address fire safety challenges
pinfa Statutes
pinfa operates in accordance with the defined Operating Rules within the Cefic framework (version of November 2023)
Our mission
Fire safety
Members of pinfa share the common vision that everyone has the right to fire safety.
Phosphorus, Inorganic and Nitrogen (PIN) flame retardants protect people from death and injury in fire. They are used to improve the fire safety of materials and to meet safety standards in consumer goods, buildings, transport and industry.
PIN flame retardants prevent fire from starting or delay its development, allowing more time for people to escape. Smoke and toxic fire gases are often the biggest danger in fires because of toxicity, immobilisation of victims and visual inhibition of escape. PIN flame retardants reduce gas emissions by reducing burning, and tend to ensure low-smoke and reduced gas corrosivity.
Environment and human health
Members of pinfa share the common vision of continuously improving the environmental and health profile of their flame retardant products and demonstrating their safety. pinfa members strive to
- Reduce the risk of fire from products, by using flame retardants only where appropriate (technically, economically and environmentally) – giving flame retardants the proper role within the fire safety “toolbox”.
- Minimise environmental and health impacts of fire and smoke, and of PIN flame retardants – provide information and data to demonstrate the safety of flame retardants.
- Enable recycling of flame retardant products and making them fit for the circular economy.
- Collaborate with all relevant stakeholders like regulators, science and industry.
Commitment to collaboration
pinfa is committed to ensuring the safe use of flame retardant products and works in partnership with stakeholders (NGOs, environmental, consumer associations, scientists, regulators, fire safety experts, user industries). pinfa commits to:
- Building on existing chemical assessment systems, addressing data gaps and improving assessment of exposure.
- Accepting that FRs are generally persistent in order to be durably effective, and investigating the best ways to manage this while retaining their effectives and usefulness.
- Accepting that FRs may have acute Hazard Phrases, and investigating ways to minimise exposure while ensuring they do their important job.
- Taking into consideration the full life cycle (production, disposal, biodegradation).
- Taking into account release risk.
- Developing appropriate criteria for assessing the safety of inorganic flame retardant components (existing criteria are largely designed for organics).
- Defining how to treat areas where information is not available.