CFP 2018 Report

 Leading brands demonstrate pathways to chemical and material health

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 17, 2018

CONTACT: Alison Poor, Alison@cleanproduction.org, 781-391-6743 x110

Continuous improvement – three years of CFP Surveys highlight the growing capacity of business leaders to develop and execute comprehensive chemicals policies, know the chemistry of their products, measure their chemical footprints, and be public about their journeys

Somerville, MA -- CFP Signatories with $2.8 trillion in assets under management and over $700 billion in purchasing power are asking their stakeholders: where are you on your chemicals management journey? Are you participating in the CFP Survey? What are your CFP Survey answers? As Larisa Ruoff, Director of Shareholder Advocacy and Corporate Engagement at the Sustainability Group at Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge explains, “We believe it is in a company’s best interest to use the CFP Survey as a tool to better inform its chemicals management strategy and provide meaningful disclosure to investors and the public.”

“Leadership in chemical and material health is participating in the CFP Survey,” highlighted Dr. Mark S. Rossi, Executive Director of Clean Production Action and co-founder of CFP. Findings from the 3rd Annual Report reveal rising performance across the four pillars of the Survey:

• Management Strategy: creating and making public comprehensive chemicals management policies that state the position of the organization and senior management on improving chemical and material health – companies achieved 67% of possible points for corporate policies in 2017 (up from 42% in in 2015).
• Chemical Inventory: collecting full chemical ingredient information from suppliers including all chemicals, not only Chemicals of High Concern (CoHCs) or chemicals on restricted substances lists (RSLs) – 84% of 2017 Survey respondents collected full chemical ingredient information for some of their products (up from 63% in 2015).
• Footprint Measurement: calculating chemical footprint. Chemical footprinting establishes the foundation for setting quantitative goals and measuring progress away from CoHCs to safer solutions – 75% of 2017 Survey respondents calculated their chemical footprint (up from 29% in 2015).
• Disclosure & Verification: making CFP Survey responses and scores publicly available. Companies opening the door to their chemicals management journey are: Beautycounter, BD, Case Medical, GOJO Industries, Humanscale, Levi Strauss & Co., Milliken & Company, Naturepedic, Radio Flyer, Seagate Technology, and Seventh Generation.

The CFP Survey provides a replicable, independent, and comparable framework for leading brands to report their organization’s progress towards environmentally sound chemicals management. In the words of 2017 Survey responders:

• “At Herman Miller,” explains Gabe Wing, Director, Safety and Sustainability, “we believe that safe chemistry is a requirement for any sustainable product. By making products that can meet certifications, holding ourselves to stringent environmental requirements, and sharing massive amounts of environmental data, we help our customers achieve their own goals, promote health and well-being, and deliver the best possible products. As we continue asking ourselves if we’re making the most sustainable choices, we remain committed to creating a better world by design and tools like the Chemical Footprint Project Survey will help us get there.”
• “Milliken & Company is committed to operating in a manner that protects the quality of our environment and the health and safety of our entire value chain, including suppliers, associates, customers and the public,” states Philip Ivey, Strategic Sustainability Leader, Milliken Floor Covering Division. “To that end, we have set a goal of zero human health impacts to anyone who comes into contact with any aspect of Milliken & Company’s operations and products. The Chemical Footprint Project Survey provides us with a platform to track and share our journey toward our goals.”

CFP responders are meeting the needs of customers, such as Vizient, the nation’s largest group purchasing organization (GPO) for health care products representing approximately $100 billion in annual purchasing volume. As Cristina Indiveri, Senior Director, Environmentally Preferred Sourcing at Vizient explains, “By identifying and standardizing priorities for chemical safety in the products on our contracts, and creating transparency around chemical and environmental attributes, we enable our members to make informed purchasing decisions, improving their ability to deliver excellent health care.”

For details on the CFP Survey and 3rd Annual Report go to www.chemicalfootprint.org/results.

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About the Chemical Footprint Project (CFP)

CFP is an initiative of investors, retailers, government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and health care organizations that aspire to support healthy lives, clean water and air, and sustainable consumption and production patterns through the effective management of chemicals in products and supply chains. CFP Signatories, representing over $2.8 trillion in assets under management and over $700 billion in purchasing power, are engaging corporations in CFP. The participants in CFP recognize chemicals as they do carbon, understanding that a global transition to a reduced chemical footprint is necessary. CFP gives Signatories an invaluable tool to discern which firms bear the highest chemical risk and which are best positioned to capture new markets with safer products. The founding organizations of CFP are Clean Production Action, the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and Pure Strategies.