Emerging Contaminants (ECs) are natural or manufactured chemicals in household and personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and agrichemicals; their use and discharge are largely unregulated. ECs are used daily by individuals and industries globally with substantial amounts released into the environment. There are concerns about the risk ECs pose to the environment and our food. International research shows ECs are widespread and detrimental to the health and resilience of freshwater and marine ecosystems. Our primary industry is vulnerable to EC contamination. There is a Strategy to Manage ECs in NZ and a National Advisory panel of experts from regional councils, government agencies, industry, and Māori will oversee the progress of the research to ensure that the goal of protecting NZ from ECs is achieved. The knowledge gaps on priority ECs make it challenging to the development of threshold values. We will cover current efforts to characterise the risk of ECs and how this can be applied to develop guidelines. Examples of EC guidelines for biosolids will be discussed.