An attributebased ingredient information platform for green formulation

An attribute-based ingredient information platform for green formulation Alec Gosse Green. Blue ACS Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference Washington, DC 25 June 2008 sponsored by

Green. Blue Institute (Green. Blue) Mission Green. Blue is a nonprofit institute that stimulates the creative redesign of industry by focusing the expertise of professional communities to create practical solutions, resources, and opportunities for implementing sustainability. Programs • Clean. Gredients® www. cleangredients. org • Sustainable Packaging Coalition℠ www. sustainablepackaging. org • Green 2 Green℠ www. green 2 green. org

What is Clean. Gredients®? An on-line database of industrial and institutional (I&I) cleaning product ingredients designed to: • help formulators identify ingredients that may be useful for green product formulation and • help raw material suppliers market their ingredients with especially positive human and environmental health and safety (HEHS) attributes. • Currently 16 supplier companies and 260 formulator subscribers

Drivers SUPPLY CHAIN Chemical Manufacturers Product Formulators Purchasers & End Users make ingredients for use in products. select ingredients for use in products. purchase or use formulated products. (ex: Du. Pont) (ex: Ecover) (ex: Wal-Mart) DRIVERS Green Chemistry Green Formulation Green Purchasing

Rationale for Approach – Not a Simple List! • Not a ranking system • Focus on hazard-based information and information relevant to environmental purchasing, eco-labeling, and sustainability—and needed for risk assessment For example, biodegradation criteria consistent with eco-label certification criteria • Includes Df. E Screen in order to facilitate Df. E-formulator partnerships and Df. E recognition for products and to identify preferred environmental attributes.

Goals for Clean. Gredients® • Provide a source of relevant environmental fate and toxicity information on potential cleaning product ingredients • Provide a resource formulators to select ingredients that will improve the environmental fate and safety of their products • Provide a resource for ingredient producers to communicate the environmental fate and safety of ingredients in a standardized format for current and future ingredients • Incorporate consideration of HEHS hazard data into the process of cleaning product formulation • Promote an ethic of continuous improvement • Leverage Df. E Formulator Program services and streamline Df. Eformulator partnerships by making already-reviewed ingredient information available • Drive principles of green chemistry into commerce

Clean. Gredients® Project Participants • Green. Blue Institute (Green. Blue) • U. S. EPA Df. E Formulator Program • NSF International • Cleaning Product Formulators • Chemical Manufacturers and Suppliers • Industry Associations • Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

Clean. Gredients® Project Structure Steering Committee • Advisory role for the project as a whole • Membership on the Steering Committee is limited • Includes participants from three industry associations, two formulator companies, two supplier companies, U. S. EPA Df. E, and two NGOs Technical Advisory Committees • Guide the selection of attributes and criteria for each ingredient class • Help guide development of the overall web interface Project Associates (more than 800) • • • Source of expertise and input Serve as peer review community Pool from which to draw committee members Receive Project Updates (email list) Help beta-test new ingredient modules as they come on-line

Clean. Gredients® Solvents TAC Participants Include

Types of Ingredient Information in Clean. Gredients® • • General Information Sales Information Physical-Chemical Attributes Regulatory Attributes Human Health and Safety Attributes Ecotoxicity Attributes Environmental Fate Attributes

Tier Structure for Ingredient Information Tier 1 Attributes • Require the submission of test data for third-party review • Key attributes for determining whether or not an ingredient will support environmentally preferable product formulation Tier 2 Attributes • Required if known • Important for characterizing ingredients for environmentally preferable product formulation but do not require third-party review Tier 3 Attributes • Optional • Information that supports broader environmental perspectives, such as origin of feedstock, life cycle assessments, risk assessments, etc. Tier 4 Attributes • Considered but not included (for a given chemical class)

Suppliers submit ingredient formulation and data to a third-party certifier for evaluation against Clean. Gredients listing criteria and the Df. E Screen ( )

Third-party reviewer enters Tier 1 data into Clean. Gredients and indicates whether each ingredient passes the Df. E Screen

Formulators search Clean. Gredients and select ingredients for use in products

For formulators who seek U. S. EPA Df. E recognition. . .

Df. E provides a “screen” to identify preferred ingredients. Ingredients that pass the Df. E Screen reach a very high bar.

Formulators use the Df. E screen to select ingredients for products

Formulators submit information about products for review by Df. E. Costs are lowered using prereviewed ingredients.

EPA recognizes products that meet Df. E criteria based on product ingredient review

Search by Performance/Physical Properties

Detailed Ingredient View

Clean. Gredients® makes Green Formulation more efficient R&D • Reduce time spent searching for available alternatives • Reduce time spent researching human and environmental health toxicological and safety data • Key ingredient attribute information in Clean. Gredients® has been verified and is publicly available ◦ No need for additional testing ◦ No need for additional verification Product Recognition • Avoid retesting, verifying, or soliciting information from suppliers for the product recognition or certification process • Chemicals/ingredients already reviewed and listed in Clean. Gredients® do not incur a review fee for Df. E Partnership recognition.

An Expandable System

In the future… Expand modules for cleaning products: • Apply to household cleaning products • Additional ingredient categories ◦ ◦ Solvents Chelating agents (in development) Fragrances (in development) Six total modules by March 2009 Other product types: • Packaging materials (inks, coatings, pigments) • Building materials (flooring, insulation) Other aspects of Green Chemistry: • Energy • Atom Economy

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