• Chemical management − developing footprint metrics for packaging, manufacturing, & organizations
• Hazard assessment − including chemical classes, endocrine disruption, & transformation products
• Public policies on PFAS, cosmetics, transparency, circular economy, and more
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) & Environmental Justice (EJ) – beginning the journey to integrate DEI and EJ into the work of BizNGO.
• Annual meeting – hold the dates for our virtual gathering December 7-8, 2021 

BizNGO is a trusted and safe space for business, environmental, government, and academic leaders to collaborate in developing and refining best practices in chemicals management. Engage with and learn from peers, work through challenges, and find inspiration for your work.

See below for details, including presentations from the December 2020 BizNGO Annual Meeting. To join BizNGO or any work group contact us at moreinfo@bizngo.org.

Chemicals Management Work Group

 Why Join: Engage in chemical footprinting—including definitions, metrics, best practices, and application in the Chemical Footprint Project Survey.  Additionally, the Chemicals Management Work Group creates resources that simplify and clarify leadership work in chemicals management. 

Projects for 2021:

• Manufacturing footprint metric
• Packaging module of the CFP Survey
• Chemical classes in the CFP Survey
• Chemical Footprinting Summit – 2022

 Highlights from 2020 BizNGO Annual Meeting:

• Measuring and disclosing chemical footprints − for all presentations go to Session 2 @ https://www.bizngo.org/conference/2020-annual-meeting 

 Work Group Co-Chairs:

• Boma Brown-West, Environmental Defense Fund
• Cheri Peele, Clean Production Action

For more information contact: cheri@cleanproduction.org.

Hazard Assessment in Decision Making Work Group

Why Join:

• Address pain points and create solutions to refine the science and practice of hazard assessment in decision-making.
• Promote best practices and develop resources that advance and clarify the practice of hazard assessment and the application of GreenScreen® for Safer Chemicals in evaluating, designing, and selecting safer ingredients and products.
• Discuss and make recommendations for the effective integration of hazard assessment in decision-making frameworks including alternatives assessments, standards, ecolabels, purchasing specifications, restricted and acceptable substance lists, campaigns, and regulations.

Projects for 2021:

• Endocrine disruption/activity: Update and refine criteria for evaluation of endocrine activity and endocrine disruption in GreenScreen to incorporate advanced in the science and better guide decision-making.
• Chemical classes: Align on leadership definitions for 2-4 chemical classes and publish a Fact Sheet describing each chemical class including the harmonized leadership definition.   
• Transformation Products: Refine guidance on identifying feasible and relevant environmental transformation products and discuss the relation to very persistent chemicals.
• Plastics: Discuss best practices for obtaining supply chain information regarding the chemical composition of polymeric materials as well as tools for evaluating the hazards of polymers and polymeric materials.

Highlights from 2020 BizNGO Annual Meeting

• Taking on challenges to chemical ingredient disclosure – for all presentations go to Session 3 @ https://www.bizngo.org/conference/2020-annual-meeting ​

Work Group Co-Chairs:

• Nicole Acevedo, Elavo Mundi Solutions 
• Shari Franjevic, Clean Production Action
• Antonio Quiñones-Rivera, GOJO Industries
• Cory Robertson, HP Inc.
• Mark S. Rossi, Clean Production Action

For more information contact: shari@cleanproduction.org.

ASBC-BizNGO Safer Chemicals Public Policy Work Group

The BizNGO Public Policy group works in partnership with the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) in public policy engagement.

 Work Group Co-Chairs:

• David Levine, American Sustainable Business Council
• Mark S. Rossi, Clean Production Action

Our work will include:

• Engaging in public policy initiatives at the state and federal level, including:
  • Transparency initiatives: a) engaging in details important to transparency policies; b) tracking and engaging in initiatives as appropriate; and c) state initiatives, including: fragrances, flavorings, beauty & personal care ingredients
  • PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) policy initiatives
  • California Safer Consumer Product Regulation implementation
  • Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) / Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act implementation
  • US EPA Safer Choice Program
  • Federal Cosmetics Safety Bills
• Featuring in-depth analyses by policy experts
• Approaching policy initiatives in a non-partisan, balanced, objective, and technical manner

For more information contact: mark@cleanproduction.org.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) & Environmental Justice (EJ)

Building off BizNGO 2020 AGM: Confronting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion & Environmental Justice at the Intersection of Business and Hazardous Chemicals

The BizNGO 2020 Annual Meeting was the first time the workgroup has explored the overlaps between business use of harmful chemicals and the disproportionate impacts of such on communities of color and other vulnerable populations. The first session of the conference included great presentations from Hannah McCall, Founder, Clean Beauty for Black Girls; and Jose Bravo Executive Director, Just Transition Alliance and Coordinator of the Campaign for Healthier Solutions. We then asked BizNGO members to discuss these questions in small groups:
 

• What is your organization doing to take an effective approach to your work through a DEI + EJ lens?
• What do you think BizNGO could be doing to advance diversity, equity and inclusion? Is the workgroup well positioned to do that right now?
• What conversations does BizNGO need to have in 2021? What are some tangible outcomes we can aim for in 2021

Now that we had time to begin the conversation at the 2020 Annual Meeting we are now planning calls for 2021 to focus in on opportunities for  BizNGO to support DEI efforts and environmental justice in 2021. We aim to coordinate ongoing group-thinking of BizNGO members dedicated to advancing DEI in BizNGO and its networks by creating a space to go deeper into the ideas and questions left on the table at the end of the 2020 BizNGO DEI session, and to shape the next session agenda at the 2021 Annual Meeting. Join our next call on June 30^th at 4:00 PM EDT!

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Contact Kayla (kayla@cleanproduction.org) for information on how to join a BizNGO workgroup or calls. I hope to see you there.