12.06.23
The American Cleaning Institute (ACI) recently shared feedback with White House Panel addressing the government sustainable chemistry policy.
In a letter addressed to the White House interagency panel, the ACI states the government’s failure to meet its requirements to review new chemicals within 90 days has created a “bottleneck” for new innovative, safer and environmentally sustainable chemicals from reaching the US market and building the respective benefits to scale.
ACI’s views were shared with a White House interagency panel tasked with addressing federal sustainable chemistry strategies. That team of experts – part of the National Science and Technology Council – requested feedback on its recently issued “Sustainable Chemistry Report; Framing the Federal Landscape.”
“Sustainable chemistry is a critical area for investment and can be incorporated into many existing statutes in a meaningful way,” wrote Nathan Sell, ACI senior director, sustainability and Blake Nanney, ACI director, government affairs. “We need to ensure that investments made today will continue to align with sustainability goals throughout the lifetime of these programs, helping the US to meet critical milestones needed to address climate change and other environmental concerns.”
In the letter, the ACI urges the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to meet its statutory requirements for new chemical reviews to ensure adequate approvals for sustainable chemistry solutions that are demonstrably safer and more sustainable and encourages Congressional leadership to expand the sustainable chemistry sector. The organization also encourages the expansion of the sustainable chemistry workforce and supports sustainable chemistry innovation through an initiative for greater coordination between government, academic and industry leaders.
“The lack of consistency and clarity for new chemicals reviews undertaken through EPA’s Premanufacture Notification (PMN) process creates a disincentive for US manufacturers to develop sustainable chemistry products and technologies that could otherwise play an important role in establishing a more permanently sustainable economy,” read the letter. “Only with a functioning, predictable and fair process through EPA’s New Chemicals Office, can we expect to drive the development and use of a new generation of sustainable chemistries.”