Clean Production Action

CPA’s initiatives break down into four primary programs: BizNGO, GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals, the Chemical Footprint Project, and its ESG arm, the Investor Environmental Health Network. ²

Since 2016, CPA has been led by executive director Mark S. Rossi, an environmental policy analyst. ³ Rossi regularly speaks out against the chemical industry’s reliance on conventional energy, calling it “incredibly toxic.” ⁴

Programs

BizNGO

In 2006, Clean Production Action and Rossi launched BizNGO, an initiative that promotes partnerships between businesses, NGOs, and governments to advance progressive environmentalism in the chemical industry. Among BizNGO’s objectives is the creation of a “transition agenda” for companies seeking to move away from chemicals that CPA deems harmful to human or environmental health. ⁵

CPA describes BizNGO as an informal network rather than a membership organization,⁶ and thus opens participation to any companies, NGOs, governments, and academics who support BizNGO’s set of “Principles for Safer Chemicals,” which include a commitment to disclosing all chemicals used in products and supporting public policies that “promote a greener economy, including support for green chemistry research and education.” ⁷

BizNGO has published a range of reports designed to assess corporate compliance with CPA’s principles, including the Chemical Alternatives Assessment Protocol, Plastics Scorecard, and Alternatives to Methylene Chloride in Paint and Varnish Strippers. ³

GreenSecreen

CPA’s GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals is a chemical hazard assessment method used by governments and businesses to identify dangerous chemicals and choose alternatives to replace them. CPA reports that GreenScreen is used by businesses in the electronics, apparel, and building sectors to identify safer alternatives to toxic chemicals. ⁸

In 2017, CPA launched a certification program for products that meet GreenScreen criteria, called GreenScreen Certified. It has certified certain firefighter foams, textile chemicals, and fabrics, among other products. ⁹

Chemical Footprint Project

CPA’s Chemical Footprint Project (CFP) works to pressure companies to measure and disclose their chemical footprints to investors and the public. ¹⁰ CFP developed a quantitative process for measuring corporate chemical footprints, which it says is used by 31 companies including Levi Strauss, Walmart and Hewlett-Packard to inventory and self-report on hazardous chemical use. ¹¹ According to CPA, it is also used by investors, retailers, health care organizations, and NGOs to evaluate their manufacturers on chemical use issues. ¹²

ESG Activities

In 2018, CPA executive director Mark Rossi helped ramp up CPA’s activist investing efforts by leading the integration of the Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN) into CPA. IEHN organizes ESG investors to pressure public companies to adopt safer chemical usage. ³

In June 2020, IEHN and CPA were involved in a shareholder proposal filed with TJX Companies, the parent company of TJ Maxx and HomeGoods, by the activist investing firms Trillium Asset Management LLC and First Affirmative Financial Network. ¹³ Nearly 45 percent of TJX Companies’ shareholders voted in favor of the resolution calling on the retailer to report on its plans to reduce its chemical footprint. ¹⁴