”Material compliance is the legal codification of sustainability.”
Simon joined Substantio in October 2025 as Director Environmental Compliance & Market Development. He brings a rare perspective: Simon didn’t just know Substantio from demos—he has implemented the platform on the customer side and helped shape its evolution in practice.
We spoke with Simon about what fascinates him about material compliance, why companies without their own system quickly end up with rising costs and effort, and where the topic (and Substantio) is evolving.
Simon, tell us a bit about yourself. What do you do at Substantio?
“Since October 2025, I’ve been working at Substantio as Director Environmental Compliance & Market Development. As a direct point of contact for our customers, my goal is to help them implement material compliance processes faster, better, and more easily – from managing their own material data all the way through the supply chain.”
You said something that really sticks: “Material compliance is the legal codification of sustainability.” What exactly do you mean by that?
“Many companies set sustainability goals. Material compliance is the step that comes before and makes those goals tangible: through regulations, thresholds, and documentation requirements. In my view, material compliance shouldn’t be seen as a necessary evil. The real value becomes clear when you truly know which problematic substances are in your products and what impact they can have. That’s when you can implement sustainability in practice – not just talk about it.”
What personally fascinates you about material compliance?
“I studied plastics engineering and most recently worked as a material engineer. What excites me about materials is how they behave, how they change, and how they interact with each other. And that understanding is also the core of material compliance and a key path toward sustainable materials and components: building real material expertise.”
Do you have a real-world example that shows how complex material topics can be?
“A good example is lead in metals. Under RoHS, lead will no longer be permitted via exemptions in the future – it will actually be prohibited, and that’s the right direction. But many people may not realize why lead is still used in metals in the first place. Often, it’s not about the end product, it’s about the manufacturing process: lead can be used as a machining aid. Details like that matter because they explain why substances appear and how to handle them in a meaningful way.”
You already knew Substantio before joining. How did that happen?
“In my previous company, a manufacturer of electronic operating components, we introduced Substantio back in 2019. The goal at the time was to move away from Excel and isolated solutions and toward an automated process for supplier requests plus a reliable single source of truth for materials and material compliance data. It was important for us to keep the data in-house, build internal knowledge, and not be dependent on external providers. That’s why we decided to go with Substantio.”
What was the main problem you wanted to solve back then?
“All the data sits in the supply chain but without a system, it doesn’t become a robust process, especially when you need analytics, evidence, and scalability. And once requirements become more dynamic, without a software tool you become reactive very quickly – and that gets expensive.”
What improved specifically after implementation?
“We were able to run automated supplier requests much faster. Requests that used to take a very long time suddenly became possible within just a few days. And the effect grew over time: as the data set and processes expand, it doesn’t get more complicated – in the end, it gets better and more efficient.”
Many companies work with service providers. Where do you see the difference?
“Service providers can help in the short term, but companies often remain dependent. Costs can rise significantly, and the know-how doesn’t grow internally. My point is: you should build a system that can be used and expanded internally. Then you can work more deliberately, understand risks better, and continuously improve your material data.”
What convinced you about Substantio as a company?
“To me, Substantio is a team that doesn’t just discuss things – it delivers. Innovative, reliable, and fast. That’s crucial in compliance: customers need solutions that work consistently and can evolve over time. Even when I was on the customer side, the collaboration stood out and I’m especially excited that I can now actively and creatively help shape what comes next.”
Where do you see material compliance heading in the next few years?
“It will move much more strongly toward automation and AI will help make supplier declarations and data flows more efficient. At the same time, the most important point remains: truly understanding what the customer needs and offering the right solution with flexibility – not a one-size-fits-all approach. That matters a lot to me.”
Finally: What’s most important to you when working with customers?
“Transparency and practicality. Material compliance should never be an end in itself. In the end, it’s about helping companies make better decisions – faster, more confidently, and with less effort.”
Welcome to the team, Simon!
If you’d like to learn how to build and automate structured material data across your supply chain, the best next step is to book a meeting with Simon Brack.
