At its fourth meeting in May 2009, the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention took decision SC-4/5 to initiate the establishment of a collaborative framework to promote and facilitate information exchange to support the delivery of the obligations of the Stockholm Convention on the environmentally sound management of PCBs. The PCBs Elimination Network (PEN) is a voluntary arrangement for information exchange and aims at improved coordination and cooperation among stakeholders from different sectors with an interest in the ESM of PCBs.

According to Annex A part II of the Stockholm Convention, Parties to the Convention are obliged to eliminate equipment and oils containing PCBs from use by 2025 and bring these under environmentally sound waste management by 2028. Main obstacles encountered by developing countries and countries with economies in transition concerning the environmentally sound management (ESM) PCB oils and equipment containing PCBs are lack of capacities, poor inventories, limited resources and inaccessible information.

Efforts to manage PCBs in an environmentally sound manner are already under way. Donor countries and financial institutions, holders of PCBs, NGOs and International Organisations all provide support to developing countries and countries with economies in transition to manage PCB oils and contaminated equipment. However, there is a lack of global coordination and even linkages at the regional level.

In order to harmonize and coordinate these activities and facilitate information exchange, the  PEN will:

• Record and disseminate information on the activities of the PEN through the Clearing House Mechanism of the Stockholm Convention;
• Provide a link between members and promote local networking;
• Promote the Stockholm Convention and the achievement of its PCB- related objectives;
• Raise awareness on successful ESM activities;
• Promote the research, development and  the transfer of environmentally sound techniques to developing countries;
• Establish annual awards for contribution to the ESM of PCBs using donations from members.

For more information, please read "The PCBs Elimination Network (PEN)".

If there are queries on the PEN, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) web page that explains relevant issues regarding the PEN or contact the Secretary of the PEN at pen@pops.int