(500d) The Design for the Environment Green Formulation Initiative

Many product developers seek to formulate products with more benign chemicals, but they lack access to reliable technical information about green chemical alternatives. In addition, there are a growing number of market drivers that create a pull for green chemical alternatives to conventional products. Some companies seek market recognition through eco-labels or through other voluntary initiatives such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Formulator Program or through corporate initiatives. The Design for the Environment Green Formulation Initiative (DfEGFI) is addressing the need for information that supports green formulation along with market recognition through the development of an information platform that presents reliable technical information on chemicals, materials and products along the supply chain, helping product developers and specifiers to continually improve the human and ecological health profiles of the products they design or specify. The first information platform developed, CleanGredients™, is an online database of industrial and institutional cleaning product chemicals that supports innovative, green product formulation by enabling:

o Developers and manufacturers of cleaning product chemicals to showcase their ingredients with environmentally preferable human and environmental health characteristics, and

o Cleaning product formulators to easily identify ingredients for use in their environmentally preferable products.

The vision behind CleanGredients™ is to ultimately reduce the use of chemicals that are toxic and otherwise hazardous to humans and the environment. CleanGredients™ was developed using a multi-stakeholder process comprised of individuals from industry, government and environmental organizations through a Steering Committee, a Technical Advisory Committee and Project Associates serving as a peer review community. The information platform model communicates environmentally relevant information on chemicals more effectively, so that the information may be incorporated into product design and development activities. Information on key performance attributes is presented alongside information on key human and environmental health attributes, making it easy to consider human and environmental health in product design. CleanGredients™ creates a “one-stop-shop” for formulators, suppliers and 3rd parties, such as EPA's Design for the Environment Program or eco-labeling organizations seeking toxicological and environmentally relevant ingredient information.