Interagency Alternatives Assessment Webinar: Incentivizing Chemical Disclosure, Alternative Assessments, and Safer Substitution via Product Sustainability Standards J U N E 2 8 , 2 0 1 6 F A C I L I T A TE D B Y : J O E L T I C K N E R , S C D J O E L _ TI C K N E R@ U M L. E D U L O W E L L C E N T E R F O R S U S T A I N A B L E P R O D U C T I O N , U M A S S L O W E L L * If you would like to ask a question or comment during this webinar please type your question in the Q&A box located in the control panel.
Goals Continuing education and dialog To advance the practice of alternatives assessment for informed substitution across federal, state, local and international agencies through networking, sharing of experiences, development of common approaches, tools, datasets and frameworks, and creation of a community of practice.
Purpose of this call • Importance of public/private procurement in accelerating safer alternatives • However, informed substitution has not typically been a part of sustainable procurement approaches • US EPA is working to identify creative mechanisms to insert the transition to safer chemicals in upcomping product sustainability standards
Speakers Holly Elwood, US EPA Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Group Alison Kinn Bennett, US EPA
Discussion Questions • How can agencies more effectively engage in sustainable product standards processes to ensure attention to safer chemistry? • Are there roles for the interagency dialogue in building a network of expertise to inform these standards?
Webinar Discussion Instructions Due to the number of participants on the Webinar, all lines will be muted. If you wish to ask a question, please type your question in the Q&A box located in the drop down control panel at the top of the screen. All questions will be answered at the end of the presentations.
Incentivizing Chemical Disclosure, Alternative Assessments, and Safer Substitution via Product Sustainability Standards Holly Elwood & Alison Kinn Bennett EPA’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program Presentation to the Interagency Alternative Assessment Working Group June 28, 2016
A GENDA § EPA’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program § Federal Green Purchasing Requirements § EPA’s Engagement in Product Sustainability Standards Development efforts § Electronics sector case study § Opportunities to engage, collaborate! § Your questions…
T HE E NVIRONMENTALLY P REFERABLE P URCHASING P ROGRAM § Harness federal purchasing power to green markets by: o Providing recommendations of standards and ecolabels that federal agencies can use to identify and buy environmentally preferable products and services o Work with stakeholders to create life cycle, multi-attribute environment performance standards for priority products that feds procure o Provide technical assistance to help feds buy products meeting these standards § Federal Acquisition Regulations Part 23.703 state that Agencies must “Maximize the utilization of environmentally preferable products and services (based on EPA-issued guidance)”.
E XECUTIVE O RDER 13693 – M ARCH 2015
EO 13693 – 3( I ) S USTAINABLE P ROCUREMENT R EQUIREMENTS Meet or Recycled WaterSense (iii) Env. Preferable (i)Statutory Mandates (ii) EPA programs exceed specs, content (CPG) Safer Choice standards, or EnergyStar, labels SNAP FEMP recommended Smartway by EPA BioPreferred https://sftool.gov/greenprocurement
EPP P ROGRAM P ARTICIPATION IN S TANDARDS ( EXAMPLES ) Spend category Focus Standards Organization Electronics personal computers IEEE imaging equipment IEEE TVs IEEE mobile phones UL-E servers NSF, IEEE Buildings, building furniture BIFMA materials & furnishings homes, office buildings, schools, sites USGBC, ICC, CHPS, SITES thermal insulation, doors, appliances UL-E, AHAM carpet, commercial furnishings fabric, resilient flooring, wall NSF coverings, roofing membranes Meetings /Hospitality destinations, exhibits, venues, a/v, communications, ASTM accommodations, food, & transport Services Professional Services, Building Maintenance Services NSF, GreenSeal 12
EPP P ROGRAM P ARTICIPATION IN S TANDARDS § Join standards development organizations § Coordinate across EPA and with other feds, experts o Desired criteria & supporting statements o Comment on other stakeholders’ proposals § Represent EPA at standards development meetings § Vote! § Develop model criteria for EPA standards development engagement
EPP P ROGRAM M ODEL C RITERIA – I NVENTORY & D ISCLOSURE § Identify chemical substances used in the manufacture of a product and substances in the final product via a Product Chemical Substance Inventory. § Increase transparency of chemical constituents associated with the manufacture of a product and substances comprising the final product. o Disclose the Product Chemical Substance Inventory. o Develop and Disclose Chemical Management Plan. o Work with suppliers to develop and disclose a complete portfolio of Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) (consistent with the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS)) and other label and product information that includes comprehensive hazard communication in order to support the identification and safe handling of chemical ingredients.
EPP P ROGRAM M ODEL C RITERIA – A SSESS & S UBSTITUTE § Chemical Assessment § Safer Alternatives § Criteria for Hazard Endpoints § Criteria for Specific Chemicals and Uses that have been subject to regulatory or voluntary action
E LECTRONICS C ASE S TUDY § Current standards being updated or under development: o UL 110 Standard for Sustainable Mobile Devices o NSF/IEEE Joint Server Standard o IEEE 1680.1 Standard for the Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products § Goal of all of these standards: Cover all the environmental impacts of the product across the life cycle § All include criteria on: o Environmentally Sensitive Materials ¬ Elimination or reduction of specific chemicals of concern residing in the product ¬ Incentivizing Full Material Disclosure ¬ Incentivizing Alternatives Assessment § Iterative Process – continual updating, refining as we learn more
E LECTRONICS S TANDARDS : R EDUCING C HEMICALS OF C ONCERN § Include criteria: o Requiring compliance with: ¬ RoHS Directive ¬ REACH Directive o Requiring or incentivizing elimination or reduction of: ¬ Cadmium, lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, nickel, bromine and chlorine, SCCP flame retardants, pentaclorophenol, dibutyltin and dioctyltin, azo dyes, dimethylfumarate, FGHGs o May include future criteria on beryllium, 1-bromopropane o Expanding to address chemicals used in manufacturing process, but don’t reside in the product
E LECTRONICS S TANDARDS : I NCENTIVIZING F ULL M ATERIAL D ISCLOSURE UL 110 Standard for Sustainable Mobile Devices § Optional – 4 points – Requesting full materials disclosure o ¬ Must demonstrate having requested information from suppliers and have system to manage information Optional – Received, validating, and managing materials information o ¬ Tiered points (2-5) based on percentage (by mass) of the product for which chemical data has been collected NSF/IEEE Joint Server Standard § 6.2.1 Optional - Documentation of declarable substances o ¬ Document all substances above thresholds set for chemicals identified in IEC 62474 ¬ Not required to make publicly available, must have a process to update, maintain this information 6.2.2 Optional - Disclosure of declarable substances (data from 6.2.1) o 6.2.3 Optional - Requesting full substance inventory (of chemicals residing in the product) o 6.2.4 Optional - Acquiring substance inventory o - 1 Point – 70% of total weight - 2 Points – 85% of total weight IEEE 1680.1 Standard for the Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products § Under development – will be influenced by approaches of other two standards o
E LECTRONICS S TANDARDS : I NCENTIVIZING A LTERNATIVE A SSESSMENTS UL 110 Standard for Sustainable Mobile Devices § Optional – 9 points o Provides lists of chemicals to consider doing AA on - IEC62474 o Provides suggested AA approaches consistent with EPA’s Design for the Environment program o May not claim point if manufacturer does not make substitution to safer chemical, but can claim if incumbent is safest o NSF/IEEE Joint Server Standard § Optional o 1 Point – Conducting 5 – 10 Alternative Assessments o 2 Points – Conducting over 10 Alternative Assessments o Allows use of AAs done by third parties o Provides lists of chemicals to consider doing AA on – IEC62474, chemicals with specific characteristics of concern (Annex C) o Provides suggested AA approaches from Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse Guide, National Academy of Sciences Framework, BizNGO o Protocol AAs need to be reviewed once they are 3 years old o Have to document result of AA, actions taken o IEEE 1680.1 Standard for the Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products § Under development – will be influenced by approaches of other two standards o
I DEAS FOR I NTERAGENCY AA W ORKING G ROUP § ID major uses of chemicals of concern & the products they are in § Develop model, cross-sector criteria to facilitate development of product-category specific criteria § Develop subject matter expert contact list as a resource for standards development § Engage directly in standards development
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