2019 Chemical Footprint Project Press Release

November 13, 2019 Press Releases

Business leaders from diverse sectors reduce their chemical footprint.

Chemical Footprint Project’s 2019 Survey results reveal 461 million lbs (209 million kgs) of hazardous chemicals eliminated by businesses over the past four years—equivalent in weight to 628 Boeing 747 airplanes.

Colorado Springs, CO—Clean Production Action released the 4^th annual Chemical Footprint Project (CFP) survey results today at the SRI Conference, which is celebrating 30 years at the leading edge of sustainable, responsible, and impact investing.

Thirty one businesses from the building product, retail, electronics, apparel/footwear, household/personal care, medical equipment/supplies, and toy sectors participated in the 2019 CFP Survey.

“But hundreds of businesses with significant financial risks due to toxic chemicals in their products and supply chains did not participate in the Survey,” noted Dr. Mark S. Rossi, report co-author and Executive Director of Clean Production Action. “These businesses do not know their chemical footprint—their use of chemicals that cause cancer, impair fertility, damage the brain, disrupt the endocrine system, or persist, bioaccumulate, and contaminate people and animals across the entire planet.”

 “The CFP Survey is a fitness test of a company’s chemicals management policies and practices, tracking business progress across four pillars of chemicals management—Management Strategy, Chemical Inventory, Footprint Measurement, and Disclosure & Verification,” stated Caroline Boden, Shareholder Advocacy Manager at Mercy Investment Services, Inc.

Highlights from the 4^th annual CFP report include:

• Reducing their footprint—the six frontrunners in the 2019 CFP Survey all scored greater than 85% of possible points, and are returning companies and disclosure leaders.
• Rising demand for chemical footprinting—investors, retailers, environmental groups, and health care organizations want businesses to reduce their chemical footprint and report progress to CFP—Survey participation rose 29% to 31 businesses.
• Continuous improvement—the 21 returning companies (participating in two or more years of the Survey) made significant improvements in their chemicals management policies and practices—increasing their scores from 53% to 67% of possible points.
• Sharing the journey—this year’s CFP Disclosure Leaders are the 10 businesses that agreed to share both their CFP Survey answers and scores: Beautycounter, Becton Dickinson and Co. (BD), Case Medical, Inc., Herman Miller, Inc., HP Inc., Levi Strauss & Co., Naturepedic, Seventh Generation, Steris PLC, and Walmart Inc.. 

“We eliminated all of the chemicals on the CFP Chemicals of High Concern List as ingredients from our products, reducing the chemical footprint of our product portfolio to zero,” said Martin Wolf, Director of Sustainability & Authenticity at Seventh Generation. “We are also deeply involved in advocating for stricter chemical management and reporting, both at the federal and state level, and have worked tirelessly in driving the homecare industry toward ingredient disclosure.”

Participating in the CFP Survey demonstrates leadership in chemicals management – the willingness and capacity of a company to report to an independent, non-governmental organization (NGO) on efforts to reduce its chemical footprint. Filling in the Survey, however, is not easy. It requires time and knowledge that a business may not {image6} readily have at its fingertips. “The earlier companies start using the Survey the sooner they learn their strengths as well as opportunities for improvement,” said Cheri Peele, report co-author and Senior Research Associate at Clean Production Action.

CFP Signatories who engage companies to reduce their chemical footprint & chemical risks include investors with $2.7 trillion in assets under management and purchasers with over $800 billion in buying power. Vizient, the health care group purchasing organization that represents approximately $100 billion in annual purchasing volume, invited all of its awarded suppliers to participate in the CFP 2019 Survey.

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Clean Production Action is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to design and deliver strategic solutions for green chemicals, sustainable materials, and environmentally preferable products. We are a solutions organization. Our tools, GreenScreen® for Safer Chemicals and Chemical Footprint Project, simplify the complexity of substituting chemicals of concern to human health and the environment with green chemistry solutions. Our collaborations, BizNGO and Investor Environmental Health Network, provide effective platforms for practitioners and thought leaders to work together in advancing chemicals, materials, products, and systems that are healthy for people and the planet.

The Chemical Footprint Project is the first-of-its-kind initiative to elevate “chemical footprinting” to the equivalent of carbon and water footprinting. Now companies can chart and report on their progress in reducing their use of chemicals of high concern (CoHCs). Signatories to the Chemical Footprint Project include investors with over $2.7 trillion in assets under management and purchasers with over $800 billion in procurement power. Together with Signatories we engage brands and retailers in reporting their overall chemicals management practices and progress to safer solutions through the annual CFP Survey.

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