eliminating toxic chemicals in products: … toxic chemicals in products: strategies for success...
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Eliminating Toxic Chemicals in Products: Strategies for Success
CleanMed April 25, 2013
CleanMed 2013 Conference, Boston, MA Category: Safer Materials/Chemicals
Speakers
Roger McFadden — Vice President, Senior Scientist, Staples
Monica Nakielski — Project Manager, Sustainable Initiatives, Partners HealthCare
Mark Rossi — Co-Director, Clean Production Action
— Co-Chair, BizNGO
Session Objectives
Create a chemicals policy for managing chemicals in products
Implement a “chemicals in products” management program
Gain organizational support for addressing chemicals of concern in products
Leverage resources and expertise for implementing a chemicals management program
Creating and Implementing an Effective “Chemicals in Products” Management Policy
CleanMed 2013 Conference, Boston, MA Category: Safer Materials/Chemicals
Roger McFadden Vice President, Senior Scientist Staples [email protected]
Presentation Outline
• Sustainability is a team sport
• Current trends and concerns in healthcare
• Impact of Product Based Pollution
• Benefits of transitioning to safer alternatives
• Overview of Staples Chemicals Policy
• Tools and Resources
Sustainability is a Team Sport at Staples
• No single organization can do it alone
• Partnerships are synergist
• Collaboration is essential: – CleanMed
– Practice GreenHealth
– Health Care Without Harm
– Healthy Hospital Initiative
– BizNGO Working Group
– Green Chemistry Commerce Council
– RIT Golisano Institute of Sustainability
– Many Others
Current Trends and Concerns in Health Care
• Hospital acquired infections (HAI)
• Chemicals of concern in health care supply chain
• Growing demand for safer products and processes in the health care environment
Vulnerable sub-populations – Children’s Hospitals
Elderly care facilities
Patients with compromised immune systems
• Workplace wellness and safety for health care staff
• Emphasis on transparency, ingredient disclosure, chemical policies, green certifications, green chemistry and green cleaning
Identify and transition to safer alternatives
Prevent pollution
Avoid toxins
Reduce emissions
Eliminate waste
Conserve energy
Lower total life-cycle costs
Eliminate product duplication
Green their supply chain
Measure and report success
Progressive Healthcare Organizations Are Asking Suppliers to Help Them Meet Sustainability Objectives
Each of these objectives requires more transparency and communication throughout the chain supply
Chemicals are a key element of materials, products and processes in our supply chains
• The introduction of new chemicals over the past few decades has provided significant value to product designers.
• New chemicals have helped improve the quality, efficiency and convenience in our workplaces, homes and communities.
BUT…. all chemicals are not created equal
• Different hazard traits
• Different human health & eco-toxicity endpoints
• Different exposure routes
• Different degradation & combustion by-products
• Different pollution potential
Progressive Organizations and Businesses are Identifying Chemicals of High Concern
• Aniline
• Benzidine dyes
• Bis (2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP)
• Bisphenol A
• Cadmium
• Dibutyl phthalate
• Diethyl phthalate
• 2-butoxyethanol
• Ethylene glycol monoethyl ether
• Ethylene glycol monomethyl ether
• Formaldehyde
• Heptane
• Hexane
• Hexavalent chromium
• Lead and lead compounds
• Mercury and Methyl Mercury
• Nonylphenol ethoxylates
• Paradichlorobenzene
• Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
• Permethrin
• Polyvinyl chloride
• Propoxur
• Safrole
• Trichloroethylene
• Triclosan
• Trisodium nitrotriacetate
Staples Restricted Substances List
Safer Consumer Products Help Safeguard Our Organizations
• Eliminates or reduces risk to brand.
• Creates shared value for consumer, community and company.
• Rewards suppliers for innovative solutions.
• Helps protect human health
• Helps protect natural and built environment both now and in the future.
Staples Chemical Policy Primary Objective
Staples seeks to offer organizations of all sizes products that are inherently safer for human and environmental health and that address environmental impacts throughout their lifecycle.
• Endorsed the BizNGO Principles for Safer Chemicals.
• Announced Staples “Race to the Top” Chemicals Management Strategy
• Developed and published a Staples “Bad Actors” RSL.
• Prepared a Staples “Chemicals Policy” currently being implemented
Staples’ Strategy and Policy for Transitioning to Safer Chemicals
Traditional Business
Sustainability Leadership Social Responsibility
Legal Compliance
Led by Legal Risk Aversion
Most Businesses
Social Responsibility
Environmental Protection, Philanthropy
Led by CSR, PR or HR Separate from the business
Growing Number of Businesses
Business Value from Smaller
Footprint and Safer Alternatives
Driven from the top Led by line management
Integrated into the business
Don’t get in legal trouble
Be a good
corporate citizen
Tap into new
sources of value
Suppliers Are Not Created Equal! Different Approaches to Sharing Chemical Information
Overarching Goals of Staples Chemicals Policy
• Respond to customer and consumer demand for safer chemicals, materials and products.
• Be proactive and ask suppliers to be more transparent about chemicals in products
• Avoid product based pollution
• Avoid hazard at product design stage
• Promote products that are made using green chemistry principles
• Make an orderly transition to safer materials.
Staples Chemicals Policy
• Requests product chemistry and hazard endpoint data from suppliers;
• Prioritizes chemicals of high concern for elimination;
• Creates collaboration with suppliers to:
• Avoid chemicals of concern
• Substitute safer alternatives
• Develops a scorecard with suppliers to measure progress and evaluate results.
“The BizNGO Guide to Safer Chemicals is a much-needed, pragmatic guide for how businesses can start on the path to safer chemicals. We welcome this much needed resource to the chemicals element of the sustainability equation.”
Roger McFadden, Vice President, Senior Scientist Staples
http://www.bizngo.org/pdf/GuideToSaferChemicals-v1_2.pdf
BizNGO Principles for Safer Chemicals Endorse and Implement
How Staples is Using the Safer Chemicals Guide
• Implement the BizNGO Principles for Safer Chemicals
• Guide suppliers and encourage them to bring safer products to market
• Create a meaningful and structured dialogue with our suppliers
• Fill chemical data gaps and improve data accuracy and quality
• Identify and/or validate safer chemicals, materials, processes and products
• Set realistic and measurable goals for our organization
• Map and measure continuous and incremental improvement
Green Screen for Safer Chemicals: Comparative Hazard Assessment Tool
A Decision Making Tool to Help Companies Identify Safer Chemical
Material Safety Data Sheets now called SDS Good Place to Begin but … Usually NOT Enough info
• OSHA regulatory response document
• Not all products containing chemicals of high concern require an MSDS
• OSHA MSDS does not require full ingredient disclosure
• Exempts disclosure of harmful chemicals below 10,000 ppm
• Chemicals that are identified as confidential business information by a company do not have to be disclosed on MSDS
• MSDS are virtually unregulated for accuracy, quality and completeness
Managing Chemical Risk Lessons Learned
• Knowing is better than not knowing.
• Action is better than inaction.
• Eliminating chemical hazard is better than managing exposure.
• Transparency/disclosure is better than vagueness or obscurity.
• Orderly proactive transition is better than abrupt reaction.
Everyone Wins With Safer Chemicals
• Creates shared value for consumer, community and company.
• Suppliers are able to leverage their innovation & differentiation
• Chemicals of concern become obsolete as they are replaced with safer alternatives
• Helps protect human health
• Helps protect natural and built environment both now and in the future.
Gaining organizational support and leveraging resources and expertise for implementing a
chemicals management program
CleanMed 2013 Conference, Boston, MA Category: Safer Materials/Chemicals
Monica Nakielski Project Manager, Sustainable Initiatives Partners HealthCare [email protected]
CleanMed 2013_Eliminating Toxic Chemicals in Products: Strategies for Success _April 25, 2013
Partners HealthCare System
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McLean Hospital
North Shore Medical Center
Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital
Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Newton Wellesley Hospital
Brigham & Women’s Faulkner
Hospital
Martha’s Vineyard Hospital
Nantucket Cottage Hospital
20 mile radius
4M OUTPATIENT VISITS
150,000 INPATIENT STAYS
65,000 EMPLOYEES
16.7M SQUARE FEET OF OWNED/LEASED SPACE
PRIMARY TEACHING AFFILIATE OF HARVARD
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Spaulding Cape Cod
Rehabilitation Hospital
CleanMed 2013_Eliminating Toxic Chemicals in Products: Strategies for Success _April 25, 2013
Why Chemicals Management
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To support Partners Healthcare System in becoming a leader for
promoting a healthy environment, optimizing the care of our
patients and the well-being of our employees while conserving
the resources we expend.
Partners cannot be viewed as contributing to the health problems
manifested in the patients we are treating.
CleanMed 2013_Eliminating Toxic Chemicals in Products: Strategies for Success _April 25, 2013
Chemicals Management is Tough
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Halons
Polystyrene
Lead
Mercury
Cadmium
Hexavalent
Chromium
CFC
HCFC
VOCs
Urea
Formaldehyde
Arsenic, penta & creosote
HFR
PVC & other
chlorinated
plastics
Copper
Short PFCs
Polyurethane
Tins
Chlorinated
paraffins
EPA
Perkins+
Will LBC
Phenol
formal-
dehyde LEED-HC
Phthalates
PBDE BPA
Long PFC
LEED Pilot
GGHC
More
carcinogens
More PBTs,
asthmagens &
endocrine
disruptors More mutagens,
reproductive,
developmental
& neurotoxicants
CPA-HBN Red List
PAHs, Phenol,
PU, more metals &
other REACH chems
LBC watch
Healthy Building Network © 2011
CleanMed 2013_Eliminating Toxic Chemicals in Products: Strategies for Success _April 25, 2013
Chemicals Management Process
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Chemical
Centric
Organization
Mobilize change
through leadership
Translate goals into
operational terms
Align the hospital to
the chemicals
strategy
Motivate to make
chemicals of concern
everyone’s job
Govern to make the
chemicals journey a
continual process
CleanMed 2013_Eliminating Toxic Chemicals in Products: Strategies for Success _April 25, 2013
Implementing Chemicals Management
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Gaining organizational support
And leveraging resources
CleanMed 2013_Eliminating Toxic Chemicals in Products: Strategies for Success _April 25, 2013
Next Steps
Coordinate efforts with partnering NGO’s
Coordinate efforts with other hospitals and systems
Coordinate efforts with vendors and service providers
Continued support to foster and grow chemicals
management within the system
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* ASL University, http://lifeprint.com/index.htm
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