PRTR (Pollutant Release and Transfer Register, Mexico)

The RETC (Registro de Emisiones y Transferencia de Contaminantes) is Mexico's public database that collects and discloses information on the releases and transfers of polluting substances generated by establishments across the country. It is coordinated by SEMARNAT and is the Mexican equivalent of the international Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs).

Its purpose is to make transparent which substances are released to air, water, soil and subsoil, and which are transferred to other sites for treatment or disposal, so that authorities, companies and citizens have comparable information year over year.

Legal basis of the RETC

The RETC is grounded in the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (LGEEPA) and its specific regulation on the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register. The list of reportable substances is set by one of the Mexican Official Standards (NOM), NOM-165-SEMARNAT-2013, which prioritises substances based on their potential to harm health and the environment.

How the RETC is fed

The main source of information for the RETC is the Annual Operating Report (Cédula de Operación Anual, COA), the form through which reportable establishments declare their releases and transfers for the previous year. The COA gathers data on productive activity, energy and water use, fuel consumption and releases to the different media, and is submitted within an annual window defined by the authority.

The RETC distinguishes two broad origins of pollution:

• Fixed sources: industrial and service facilities that report through the COA.
• Diffuse sources: dispersed emissions not coming from a single point, such as certain agricultural activities or transport.

What information it contains

The register separates releases, the direct discharge of substances into the environment, from transfers, when those substances are sent to a physically separate site for treatment, recycling, reuse or final disposal. This makes it possible to follow a pollutant beyond the point where it is generated.

RETC data is public and can be consulted online, which turns it into an environmental transparency tool and an input for environmental impact assessment and for designing pollution prevention and control policies.

Why it matters for companies

For obligated establishments, the RETC is more than a compliance requirement. The reported information helps identify pollution hotspots, prioritise reduction investments and demonstrate improvements to customers, investors and authorities. Well-organised COA data also makes it easier to prepare other environmental and climate reports.

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