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By Lynn L. Bergeson   The American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) and the Green Chemistry & Commerce Council (GC3) recently released a report that evaluates the potential business and economic value of “safer chemistry.”  The report, Making the Business & Economic Case for Safer Chemistry, concludes that market growth, capital flows, and market demand show upward trajectories during the past five years.  Large corporations, specifically including Dow,...

The Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) is pleased to share the Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) announcement that Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., will be joining B&C as a Senior Policy Advisor. Dr. Engler's experience as a senior staff scientist in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), and as leader of EPA's Green Chemistry Program, will be extremely helpful for BRAG members as they continue to navigate the...

Nominations for the 2015 Presidential Green Chemistry Awards are now being accepted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Nominations for the awards are due December 31, 2014, and the final awardees are expected to be announced in July 2015. The Awards cover six categories: academic; small business; greener synthetic pathways; greener reaction conditions; designing greener chemicals; and climate change. EPA allows companies to re-submit past nomination packets as long as the...

While it may seem like it was just last week that the 2014 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards were announced, the deadline for the 2015 awards is fast approaching -- December 31, 2014. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reverting back to its original end-of-calendar-year deadline after having a Spring deadline in recent years, and the 2015 awards will be presented in Summer 2015. The Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards promote the environmental and economic...

October 16, 2014, was a banner day for green chemistry in the nation's capital with the 2014 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge awards ceremony, and the Green Chemistry Market Roundtable preceding it. The roundtable included representatives from industry, including the 2014 award winners; EPA and other federal agency officials; and others involved with green chemistry and biobased chemicals and products. BRAG Executive Director, Kathleen Roberts, and Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.'s...

On October 2, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that its Office of the Inspector General (IG) plans to review the reported results from the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards Program. Its objective reportedly is to ensure that all reported "Green Chemistry" program contributions from EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) to EPA's performance measures are adequately supported and transparent. The IG will contact the...

With the draft initial Priority Product Work Plan now released, it is important for manufacturers, importers, and retailers of consumer products in the categories listed by DTSC in the Work Plan to understand and address any issues. The upcoming Safer Consumer Products Summit, of which BRAG is a proud sponsor, will bring together DTSC staff, brand owners, chemical companies, and industry associations to discuss these developments in sessions including: * "Strategies and Tactics in Response...

On September 12, 2014, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released its much anticipated draft Initial Priority Product Work Plan under SCPR. The Regulations require that DTSC, by October 2014, develop an Initial Priority Product Work Plan that describes product categories it will use to evaluate and identify product-chemical combinations to be added to the Priority Products. The Work Plan is available online and more detailed memoranda from BRAG affiliate Bergeson &...

The Green Chemistry Clearinghouse Conference held on September 16, 2014, in San Francisco included several interesting panels discussing topics including California Safer Consumer Products Regulations' (SCPR) recently released Work Plan, the future of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform, and the increasing push by retailers to require information from the supply chain. Jim Jones, EPA's Assistant Administrator at the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), spoke...

One of the highlights of the year for the biobased and green chemistry community is the annual Green Chemistry and Engineering (GC&E) Conference hosted by the American Chemical Society's (ACS) Green Chemistry Institute (GCI). It is the longest running green chemistry conference in the U.S. and always attracts a prestigious line-up of scientists, advocates, business leaders, academics, and students who come together, compare findings, and discuss the science of the future. A rich treasure...