Active Learning Communities
Change Chemistry’s programs and projects provide companies with opportunities to support the system-wide transition necessary to accelerate the shift towards safer, more sustainable chemicals. Our programs bring together stakeholders from across the value chain to build alignment on innovation priorities, identify and lower barriers to adopt and scale more sustainable solutions, and transform the market to create a strong demand signal for safe alternatives.
The Change Chemistry Active Learning Communities (ALC) are the “home base” for all members. The ALCs meet regularly to learn from each other, help build alignment across the supply chain around chemical innovation needs, and identify projects of interest. Members are encouraged to share best practices, tools, and successes with their peers and identify barriers impeding scale and adoption of sustainable chemistry.
The current Active Learning Communities are the Retailer Leadership Council (RLC) and Supply Chain Working Group (SCWG). Click on the tabs below to learn more.
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Retailer Leadership Council (RLC)
Purpose
Retailers face challenges gathering information about the chemicals in the products they source and sell, determining whether ingredients are of potential concern to human health and the environment, and finding safer alternatives that are effective and meet customer demand. At Change Chemistry, we understand the unique role of retailers in the chemical supply chain and founded the Retailer Leadership Council (RLC) in 2013 to promote safer chemicals, materials, and products across retail supply and value chains.
The RLC meets monthly virtually and yearly in-person at the Change Chemistry Innovators Roundtable. During these meetings, RLC members commit to having an open dialogue to promote green chemistry research, development, education, and adoption. This includes sharing best practices, challenges, and experiential lessons learned. RLC members also engage with experts across the value about the latest available resources to assist retailers in implementing their chemicals management programs. Currently, the RLC is working proactively to:
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Understand which chemicals of concern are in their products
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Develop and implement chemicals policies/strategies
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Engage their suppliers in identifying safer alternatives and improving chemicals management
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Adopt safer alternatives that perform and are cost-effective
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Educate their customers about safer products
Current RLC members include: Amazon, Best Buy, CVS Health, H&M Group, Home Depot, Kingfisher, Lowe’s, Meijer, New Balance, Primark, Sephora, Staples, Target, The TJX Companies Inc, Ulta, Walgreens, and Walmart.
To learn more, contact Asli Tamer Vestlund, European Program Lead.
Outputs
Holistic Product Considerations for Alternatives Assessment
In 2023, a sub-committee of the Change Chemistry Retailer Leadership Council formed to develop a question framework entitled Holistic Product Considerations for Alternative Assessment. This framework is designed for use by a retail or brand manager who aims to make an informed decision before recommending or approving a change in a specific chemistry or class of chemicals.
RLC Statement on Chemical Innovation Priorities and Transparency Road Map
In 2019, the RLC developed and released a Statement on Chemical Innovation Priorities and Transparency Road Map, outlining chemical functions and priority product categories where innovation and safer alternatives is needed. It also developed a road map to encourage improvement in the supply chain and public transparency of chemical ingredients in consumer products.
The Statement builds on earlier work (see background below on the Joint Statement). Although each participating retailer has a different product assortment, therefore, a different set of priorities for safer chemistry, the Change Chemistry Retailer Leadership Council collectively identified a set of chemical function and application priorities for innovation in safer alternatives. The Transparency Road Map, a critical starting point to understanding chemical innovation needs, outlines best practices in the short-term (2019–20) and includes a longer-term vision that will need further development by the entire chemicals supply chain.
The Joint Statement
From 2014 - 2016, the RLC engaged in a structured dialogue, facilitated by Change Chemistry, with five major chemical manufacturers: Akzo Nobel, BASF, Chemours, Dow, and Eastman. The RLC requested this dialogue to share information about their customer's demand signals for safer products and to understand from chemical manufacturers how to accelerate the development and scale up of green chemistry solutions and increase transparency in the value chain.
As a product of these conversation, the RLC released the Joint Statement on using Green Chemistry and Safer Alternatives to Advance Sustainable Products. The statement was unaniymously adopted by eleven participating companies. Since then, each participating company has been working to implement the five elements of the Statement. The Joint Statement signers encourage any company that is part of the chemical supply chain to use it as a framework to enhance its chemicals management program by addressing five elements:
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Goal setting and continuous improvement
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Communication
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Transparency
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Information on new chemicals and safer alternatives
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Support for green chemistry education
