Moving from a passive to an active strategy in managing for chemicals in products makes good business sense Companies increasingly need to know more about the chemicals in their products and supply chains, thanks to such drivers as regulatory requirements, market demands, media attention, advocacy from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), product recalls and market opportunities. Otherwise, they are blind to the hidden liabilities of chemicals of concern to human health and the environment in… …
UNITED STATES, Global Business Briefing, September 2015-- The US Green Building Council (USGBC) reports that the global green construction industry reached $260bn in 2013, representing 20% of all new commercial construction in the US. Where much of the initial focus has been on energy efficiency, recyclability, and reducing a building’s carbon footprint, the growing green movement has also brought an increased focus on the chemical ingredients of building components and the health hazards… …
Mark Rossi’s life mission is to advance safer alternatives to toxic chemicals. In 2006, Rossi founded BizNGO, a collaboration of more than 500 business, environmental, and government leaders. After codirecting the Clean Production Action for 10 years, he cofounded the Chemical Footprint Project in 2014. The project, administered by CPA, uses a benchmark system to raise awareness about harmful chemicals. Rossi, who earned his PhD in environmental policy from the… …
Look no further than the financial and reputational travails of Lumber Liquidators for a stark example of the risks companies are exposed to when they have toxic chemicals in their products and supply chains. From February to May, the stock price of Lumber Liquidators plummeted 70 percent — and its CEO resigned — amid concerns that the company's laminate flooring products contained unacceptably high levels of formaldehyde. The formaldehyde fiasco highlights a challenging question… …
Somerville, MA [June 19, 2015] — You’ve heard of a company’s carbon footprint. Now it’s time for the chemical footprint. Despite growing regulatory efforts, businesses around the world continue to use chemicals of high concern to human health and environment. Formaldehyde and toxic phthalates in flooring are but two examples of hazardous chemicals that have caused health issues for consumers and financial and reputation problems for companies and their products.… …
We live in an age of increasing transparency. The public expects more online information and company reporting. Consumers are asking companies and retailers about the safety of the chemicals in their products. They want to know if the paint on their children’s toys and the plastic nap mats that their kids sleep on in daycare are safe. Companies who wish to prove themselves as leaders in transparency and safety are responding because they realize increased… …
A subject that comes up frequently in the context of managing and choosing chemicals, particularly for downstream users, is that of hazard and risk. With this piece we start what will be a series on the topic, particularly as it applies to considerations and questions that arise in the process of choosing safer chemicals. The obvious place to begin is by defining “hazard” and “risk” in the context of chemicals. Outside of this context, the common dictionary… …
Carbon and water footprints, along with other measures of environmental impact, are often incorporated into corporate social responsibility or sustainability reports. Many companies now make this information public in response to increasing demands for transparency from shareholders and consumers.5 Some tools currently exist for companies to incorporate chemicals into corporate sustainability analysis as well, but methods of reporting vary from company to company. Until recently there has… …
A new tool, the Chemical Footprint Project (CFP), aims to establish meaningful measurement of overall corporate performance towards safer chemicals in products and supply chains. Dr. Mark Rossi, project lead and co-founder of NGO Clean Production Action (CPA), says the CFP provides the first-ever common metric of its kind for publicly benchmarking corporate chemicals management and profiling leadership companies. The CFP works by evaluating four areas of a company: management strategy:… …