Ruth Colau

Ruth Colau is a Principal Consultant at RPA with over 18 years of professional experience in chemicals regulation, specialising in EU and UK REACH compliance, regulatory strategy, and chemical risk assessment. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Science, a Postgraduate Certificate in REACH Management and is currently undertaking an MSc in Sustainability and Environmental Management.

Prior to joining RPA, Ruth worked in senior consulting roles at many scientific and regulatory consultancies, where she managed and delivered complex regulatory compliance projects for international clients across the chemicals, automotive, manufacturing and consumer products sectors. Her experience includes acting as Only Representative (OR) under EU and UK REACH, supporting global market access programmes, and advising companies on evolving regulatory requirements across multiple jurisdictions.

Ruth has extensive expertise in substance identity, grouping and read-across approaches under REACH, with particular experience in Annex XI adaptations and RAAF-compliant submissions. She has led data gap analyses, developed grouping strategies and analogue selection approaches, and critically reviewed read-across hypotheses to strengthen the scientific robustness and regulatory defensibility of dossiers. She has also supported projects involving classification and labelling, environmental risk assessment, and strategic compliance planning for emerging regulatory issues, including PFAS.

Her recent work has included regulatory audits for companies entering the UK and EU markets, global compliance programmes for multinational product portfolios, and technical support for PFAS consultations. Ruth has coordinated multidisciplinary project teams, liaised extensively with industry associations and regulatory authorities, and delivered high-quality technical reporting and evidence-based regulatory advice to clients.

Ruth is recognised for her pragmatic and client-focused approach, combining strong technical expertise with clear communication and project leadership skills to deliver practical, defensible regulatory solutions.