All the substances listed in the ZDHC MRSL V4.0 are banned from intentional use in commercial chemical formulations with effect from 1 Nov 2026. 

The formulations based on these listed solvents will always need to conform to ZDHC MRSL V4.0 limits for unintentional impurities. Some of these solvents have been moved from the Candidate List to the Main List to accelerate the industry’s drive toward their phase-out and the shift to safer alternatives. During this phase-out period, the use of these solvents must be done with proper emission and exposure controls at the manufacturing site in order to ensure worker health and safety. The marking of such solvents as 'EC' in the ZDHC MRSL V4.0 conveys this. It is an expectation from the industry to responsibly use these solvents while making all efforts to phase them out and replace them with MRSL-conformant products.

To support the implementation of the “EC” requirement in the ZDHC MRSL V4.0, ZDHC has published requirements for responsible solvent management in the Suppliers Roadmap to Zero. These requirements aim to help suppliers adopt chemical management best practices to minimise solvent emissions and worker exposure, while also providing guidance on safer alternatives to support the elimination or substitution of hazardous solvents.