Tom Branna, Chief Content Officer01.01.24
The household and commercial product supply chain gets more complex by the minute. Extended Producer Responsibilities (EPR), Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) and Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) are just some of the issues facing manufacturers and their suppliers. During its annual meeting in Fort Lauderdale, FL last month, the Household and Commercial Products Association (HCPA) tackled these and many other issues for its member companies.
The meeting, held December 3-6, 2023 attracted 395 industry executives, up from 370 in 2022.
HCPA President and CEO Steve Caldeira opened the general session with an overview of the Association’s accomplishments in 2023 and its goals for 2024.
“Regardless of the issue, it’s always our goal to reign in regulatory overreach and advocate for common-sense, uniform standards across the country,” he told attendees. “One reason we’ve been so successful in defeating certain proposals that could have been detrimental to industry is the strong relationships we’ve built with a wide range of stakeholders, including lawmakers and regulators at both the state and federal levels, allied trade associations and NGOs, which were instrumental in passing California’s Cleaning Product Right to Know Act.”
“HCPA and the Environmental Working Group hosted the first meeting for the future of EPA, an initiative to advocate for increased funding for the EPA and further educate policymakers about the Agency’s responsibilities, economic impact and organizational needs,” explained Caldeira.
More than 20 trade associations representing diverse industries attended that September 7 meeting at HCPA’s headquarters to discuss the coalition’s mission and principles of engagement. The Partnership will review the EPA’s budget priorities and find alignment on bolstering Agency needs, such as modernizing IT systems and improving regulatory processes.
“HCPA is committed to supporting the EPA, while also recognizing the importance of holding the Agency accountable and providing better service for our members, especially as it relates to meeting pesticide registration timelines,” added Caldeira.
HCPA’s Mike Gruber, EVP-government relations and public policy, and his team are working to protect business-critical functions at the EPA, while preserving funding for the Safer Choice program. HCPA received a 2023 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Award for the eighth time in nine years.
“Unfortunately, without clear federal direction, states are filling the gaps by passing legislation related to chemicals of concern in products, particularly surrounding PFAS,” warned Caldeira.
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a focus for HCPA’s Government Relations & Public Policy team and Steve Bennett PhD, EVP-scientific and regulatory affairs and his team. At the federal level, HCPA engaged with the House and Senate Armed Services Committees in opposition to proposals that would require the Department of Defense to ban cleaning and floor products that may contain PFAS.
“Without validated testing methods for PFAS, legislation like this could impact all of our members—even those not using fluorinated ingredients,” explained Caldeira.
He warned that broad PFAS restrictions are being introduced in the states as well. However, HCPA defeated several PFAS bills in statehouses across the country, including onerous legislation in Maryland that would have required expensive PFAS testing requirements for antimicrobial products.
He warned the audience that states are flexing their legislative and regulatory muscle beyond ingredients into policies related to packaging, especially extended producer responsibility (EPR), which requires state and local governments, waste management entities, producers and consumers to take accountability for developing effective recycling systems.
Caldeira noted that California, Colorado, Maine and Oregon all passed EPR legislation. HCPA is working with these states to reduce compliance burdens on behalf of members. Molly Blessing, director of sustainability, is facilitating HCPA member engagement with prospective Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) to help ensure a smooth transition for the industry as compliance deadlines loom in these four states.
“This is unchartered territory in the US, so it’s critically important that HCPA remain an engaged stakeholder and play a lead role in navigating this landscape,” he added.
“Recently, media articles have started to question the impact that VOCs from cleaning products have on indoor air quality,” observed Caldeira. “Working with the Communications & Public Affairs Department, which is led by Allie Hayes, HCPA’s Air Care Reputation Task Force continues to combat these misleading messages by sharing accurate information about VOCs.”
Caldeira insisted that at everyday concentrations, not all VOCs are a risk to human health or the environment.
“Cooking Thanksgiving dinner actually emits significantly more VOCs than cleaning products,” he noted.
On another matter, HCPA partnered with the Can Manufacturers Institute in 2022 to launch the Aerosol Recycling Initiative. Since its launch, the initiative has generated data to show that it’s safe (and financially beneficial) for aerosol products to be accepted in recycling systems. This information will will be published in a white paper that will be shared with both trade and consumer media, and used for advocacy efforts at all levels of government. During his remarks, Caldeira noted that outside the US, Nicholas Georges, SVP-scientific and international affairs, represents HCPA member companies.
“It’s so important that we engage on our priority public policy issues at the international level because what happens abroad, especially in Canada and Europe, typically ends up influencing domestic legislation and regulations,” he concluded.
He called AI the future for marketers, but noted that when plotting the technology along the Gartner Hype Cycle it remains in the trough of disillusionment. And yet, pharmaceutical companies are tapping into AI to make better orphan drugs. Kwitteken called AI, “anything with learning based on prediction.” Kwitteken then went on to segment the technology into two camps: Generative and Prescriptive.
“(As a PR pro) I am used to selling you filet mignon. Generative AI gets you a cheeseburger…but you’ll still eat it,” he explained.
In contrast, Prescriptive AI has the ability to give advice and make predictions based on real world dynamics and data inputs.
“Prescriptive AI is happening…and it’s creepy,” he admitted. “It will be amazing in the future, but I don’t know when that will happen.”
Why is AI so consequential? Kwitteken insisted it will dramatically change the we produce, deliver and measure our work. To get the most out of AI, he recommends using multiple large language models (LLMs), without relying on one, such as ChatGPT. LLMs are trained using massive datasets. This enables them to recognize, translate, predict or generate text or other content.
Finally, Kwitteken warned that AI may not replace you, but if you don’t adapt, you won’t have a job anyway.
“The ATM machine didn’t eliminate tellers. More banks are opening than ever before,” he concluded. “Technology doesn’t kill jobs—it creates them.”
The meeting, held December 3-6, 2023 attracted 395 industry executives, up from 370 in 2022.
HCPA President and CEO Steve Caldeira opened the general session with an overview of the Association’s accomplishments in 2023 and its goals for 2024.
“Regardless of the issue, it’s always our goal to reign in regulatory overreach and advocate for common-sense, uniform standards across the country,” he told attendees. “One reason we’ve been so successful in defeating certain proposals that could have been detrimental to industry is the strong relationships we’ve built with a wide range of stakeholders, including lawmakers and regulators at both the state and federal levels, allied trade associations and NGOs, which were instrumental in passing California’s Cleaning Product Right to Know Act.”
Volunteers are the lifeblood of any association. During the annual meeting, the Household and Commercial Products Association (HCPA) recognized several members with its annual Volunteer Awards for their service to their respective divisions.
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PRIA and EPA
After getting PRIA reauthorized in 2022 (a year earlier than expected) HCPA has worked with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on implementation, with a focus on the law’s bilingual labeling requirements and addressing the Agency’s backlogs.“HCPA and the Environmental Working Group hosted the first meeting for the future of EPA, an initiative to advocate for increased funding for the EPA and further educate policymakers about the Agency’s responsibilities, economic impact and organizational needs,” explained Caldeira.
More than 20 trade associations representing diverse industries attended that September 7 meeting at HCPA’s headquarters to discuss the coalition’s mission and principles of engagement. The Partnership will review the EPA’s budget priorities and find alignment on bolstering Agency needs, such as modernizing IT systems and improving regulatory processes.
“HCPA is committed to supporting the EPA, while also recognizing the importance of holding the Agency accountable and providing better service for our members, especially as it relates to meeting pesticide registration timelines,” added Caldeira.
HCPA’s Mike Gruber, EVP-government relations and public policy, and his team are working to protect business-critical functions at the EPA, while preserving funding for the Safer Choice program. HCPA received a 2023 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Award for the eighth time in nine years.
TSCA and State Actions
In addition to PRIA, HCPA supports TSCA funding and strong Congressional oversight over the EPA’s work on new and existing chemicals, including those used in household and commercial products. Caldeira said HCPA members cannot grow in the face of regulatory delays, backlogs and missed deadlines for chemical approvals. To keep communication lines open, Caldeira appointed Gruber to engage with the White House and several federal regulatory agencies spotlighting implementation of the Sustainable Chemistry R&D Act and the importance of inter-agency cooperation to enable a functioning New Chemicals Program that incentivizes innovation.“Unfortunately, without clear federal direction, states are filling the gaps by passing legislation related to chemicals of concern in products, particularly surrounding PFAS,” warned Caldeira.
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a focus for HCPA’s Government Relations & Public Policy team and Steve Bennett PhD, EVP-scientific and regulatory affairs and his team. At the federal level, HCPA engaged with the House and Senate Armed Services Committees in opposition to proposals that would require the Department of Defense to ban cleaning and floor products that may contain PFAS.
“Without validated testing methods for PFAS, legislation like this could impact all of our members—even those not using fluorinated ingredients,” explained Caldeira.
He warned that broad PFAS restrictions are being introduced in the states as well. However, HCPA defeated several PFAS bills in statehouses across the country, including onerous legislation in Maryland that would have required expensive PFAS testing requirements for antimicrobial products.
He warned the audience that states are flexing their legislative and regulatory muscle beyond ingredients into policies related to packaging, especially extended producer responsibility (EPR), which requires state and local governments, waste management entities, producers and consumers to take accountability for developing effective recycling systems.
Caldeira noted that California, Colorado, Maine and Oregon all passed EPR legislation. HCPA is working with these states to reduce compliance burdens on behalf of members. Molly Blessing, director of sustainability, is facilitating HCPA member engagement with prospective Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) to help ensure a smooth transition for the industry as compliance deadlines loom in these four states.
“This is unchartered territory in the US, so it’s critically important that HCPA remain an engaged stakeholder and play a lead role in navigating this landscape,” he added.
California Issues
In California, Christopher Finarelli, senior director of government relations and public policy for the West Region, is helping shape standards for ingredients such as microparticles, and pursuing reforms for high-cost state regulatory functions, such as pesticide registrations and the mill assessment. Still in California, HCPA has been working with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), for more than 35 years on volatile organic compound (VOC) regulations in the US. Most recently, HCPA, the Personal Care Products Council and the National Aerosol Association hosted a workshop for CARB to educate staff on VOCs in consumer products. HCPA is also working with states that are in the rulemaking process to develop new or revised VOC regulations using CARB’s standard as the foundation.“Recently, media articles have started to question the impact that VOCs from cleaning products have on indoor air quality,” observed Caldeira. “Working with the Communications & Public Affairs Department, which is led by Allie Hayes, HCPA’s Air Care Reputation Task Force continues to combat these misleading messages by sharing accurate information about VOCs.”
Caldeira insisted that at everyday concentrations, not all VOCs are a risk to human health or the environment.
“Cooking Thanksgiving dinner actually emits significantly more VOCs than cleaning products,” he noted.
On another matter, HCPA partnered with the Can Manufacturers Institute in 2022 to launch the Aerosol Recycling Initiative. Since its launch, the initiative has generated data to show that it’s safe (and financially beneficial) for aerosol products to be accepted in recycling systems. This information will will be published in a white paper that will be shared with both trade and consumer media, and used for advocacy efforts at all levels of government. During his remarks, Caldeira noted that outside the US, Nicholas Georges, SVP-scientific and international affairs, represents HCPA member companies.
“It’s so important that we engage on our priority public policy issues at the international level because what happens abroad, especially in Canada and Europe, typically ends up influencing domestic legislation and regulations,” he concluded.
The Power of AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is top-of-mind for every business executive. It is no surprise, then, that the Cleaning Products Division devoted an entire session to AI during the annual meeting. Aaron Kwitteken, founder and CEO of PRophet, warned attendees to “adapt or get lapped. AI will transform you, industry and the way we work.”He called AI the future for marketers, but noted that when plotting the technology along the Gartner Hype Cycle it remains in the trough of disillusionment. And yet, pharmaceutical companies are tapping into AI to make better orphan drugs. Kwitteken called AI, “anything with learning based on prediction.” Kwitteken then went on to segment the technology into two camps: Generative and Prescriptive.
“(As a PR pro) I am used to selling you filet mignon. Generative AI gets you a cheeseburger…but you’ll still eat it,” he explained.
In contrast, Prescriptive AI has the ability to give advice and make predictions based on real world dynamics and data inputs.
“Prescriptive AI is happening…and it’s creepy,” he admitted. “It will be amazing in the future, but I don’t know when that will happen.”
Why is AI so consequential? Kwitteken insisted it will dramatically change the we produce, deliver and measure our work. To get the most out of AI, he recommends using multiple large language models (LLMs), without relying on one, such as ChatGPT. LLMs are trained using massive datasets. This enables them to recognize, translate, predict or generate text or other content.
Finally, Kwitteken warned that AI may not replace you, but if you don’t adapt, you won’t have a job anyway.
“The ATM machine didn’t eliminate tellers. More banks are opening than ever before,” he concluded. “Technology doesn’t kill jobs—it creates them.”