On November 14, 2019, the non-governmental organization Clean Production Action announced the 2019 survey results of the Chemical Footprint Project (CFP). In 2019, the report shows that participation in the survey increased by 29% to include 31 businesses, that returning companies increased their scores from 53% to 67%, and that a total of 209’000 metric tons of hazardous chemicals were eliminated by businesses over the past four years since the survey began.
The CFP is described as being “the first-of-its-kind initiative to elevate ‘chemical footprinting’ to the equivalent of carbon and water footprinting” and aims to “engage brands and retailers in reporting their overall chemicals management practices and progress to safer solutions.” It tracks “business progress across four pillars of chemicals management—Management Strategy, Chemical Inventory, Footprint Measurement, and Disclosure & Verification.”
While increase in survey participation and rising scores are seen as steps forward, the Executive Director of Clean Production Action, Mark Rossi, commented that still “hundreds of businesses with significant financial risks due to toxic chemicals in their products and supply chains did not participate in the survey. 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.”
Read More
Clean Production Action (November 14, 2019). “2019 Chemical Footprint Project Press Release.”
Amanda Ulrich (December 2, 2019). “Small companies take the lead in Chemical Footprint Project results.” Chemical Watch
Reference
Clean Production Action (November 14, 2019). “Chemical Footprint Project 2019 Survey Results, Fourth Annual Report.” (pdf)
