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2021 Impacts

Blazing pathways to a safer & healthier future

December 29, 2021 Newsletters

Dear reader,

Check out our 2021 impacts – Safer Products, Transparency, Market Demand, DEI/EJ, and Organizational Resilience!

SAFER PRODUCTS – Incentivized companies to eliminate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as the “forever chemicals,” and thousands of other toxic chemicals in firefighting foam, food service ware, textiles, and furniture & fabrics by:

Launching GreenScreen Certified for Cleaners & Degreasers in Manufacturing with Apple (https://greenscreenchemicals.org/resources/entry/greenscreen-certified-for-cleaners-degreasers-announcement).
Launching GreenScreen Certified for Food Service Ware with the Center for Environmental Health (https://greenscreenchemicals.org/certified/food-service-ware).
Having over 300 GreenScreen Certified products with many more in the pipeline (https://www.greenscreenchemicals.org/certified/products)!

Along the way, at least 5 companies reformulated their products with safer chemicals to achieve the goal of GreenScreen certification.

TRANSPARENCY – Advanced chemical transparency across supply chains by:

Releasing the visionary Principles for Chemical Ingredient Disclosure with the Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse along with investors representing $715 billion in assets under management, purchasers with over $110 billion in buying power, 34 businesses, and 45 non-profit organizations (https://www.bizngo.org/public-policies/principles-for-chemical-ingredient-disclosure).
Supporting the development of the Cosmetic Supply Chain Transparency Act of 2021 with Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, American Sustainable Business Council, and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky.

MARKET DEMAND – Members of our Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN) demanded chemical footprinting and environmental justice by:

Positively impacting the retail sector:
- The CEO of Dollar Tree referenced the importance of participating in our Chemical Footprint Project Survey at the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
- TJX, the off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions, announced as part of its new Chemicals Management Program “utilizing the framework of the Chemical Footprint Project (CFP)” to undertake “a review of the Management Strategy section of the CFP survey” (https://www.tjx.com/responsibility/environment/chemicals-management).
Holding personal care companies accountable to marketing products with hazardous chemicals to women of color. See our article, “Safer cosmetics for women of color start with transparency about chemical footprints” in GreenBiz (https://www.greenbiz.com/article/safer-cosmetics-women-color-start-transparency-about-chemical-footprints).
Launching an initiative to address the undisclosed externalities and vulnerabilities of the solar supply chain with the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition as part of our work to secure a just transition to a renewable energy economy. See our comments to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on climate change disclosures at https://www.sec.gov/comments/climate-disclosure/cll12-8911810-244412.pdf.
Supporting the release of the Chemical Footprint Project’s 5^th Annual Report, which revealed companies embarking on chemicals management beyond regulation follow a similar trajectory. They develop their management strategy for moving beyond regulatory compliance to safer alternatives, they inventory their chemicals, create restricted substances lists (RSLs), assess their footprint, and last publicly disclose their actions (https://www.chemicalfootprint.org/results).

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION (DEI) AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE (EJ) initiatives grew with:

Launching BizNGO’s new DEI/EJ Work Group to accelerate business initiatives to explicitly address EJ issues in corporate policies, practices, and procedures. See Session 1 at this year’s annual meeting – Building a Roadmap: Addressing Environmental Justice through Chemicals Management (https://www.bizngo.org/conference/2021-annual-meeting).
Updating our vision statement to clearly articulate the importance of DEI and EJ in toxics use reduction (https://www.cleanproduction.org/about/cpa-vision).
Updating our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Policy to be more culturally conscious (https://cleanproduction.org/about/cpa-diversity-equity-inclusion-policy).
Training all-staff in the Racial Equity Institute’s Groundwater presentation and Racial Equity Workshop.

ORGANIZATIONAL RESILIENCE strengthened by:

Tyra Johnson Hux joining our Board. Ms. Johnson Hux is the Deputy Director of Local Initiatives Support Corporation of Western New York (LISC WNY). She began as Developer Education program lead, creating developer trainings for commercial real estate and affordable housing developers. In 2021, she began her new position as Deputy Director of the LISC WNY office, with a focus on inclusive economic development. Ms. Johnson Hux is also founder and President of Blue Sky Design Supply. She started Blue Sky out of a desire to put her values into action. Her vision for Blue Sky is of a company that generates an enduring enthusiasm for environmental and social sustainability (https://www.cleanproduction.org/about/board-member/tyra-johnson-hux).
Marni Rosen and Roger McFadden becoming our first Emeritus Directors. We are very glad to welcome Ms. Rosen (https://www.cleanproduction.org/about/board-member/marni-rosen) and Mr. McFadden (https://www.cleanproduction.org/about/board-member/roger-mcfadden1), who were both founding Board members, back to Clean Production Action.
Refreshing our logo – after many a discussion and many an iteration, we are very excited to highlight our new look and feel!