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In the first initiative of its kind to publicly benchmark corporate chemicals management, the Chemical Footprint Project (#ChemicalFootprint) today published its inaugural report. The results provide valuable insights into how leading companies manage chemicals in their products and supply chains, and how all companies might manage these issues in the future.

In its 2017 Annual Report, the Chemical Footprint Project - an initiative driving the effective management of chemicals in product supply chains - demonstrates how chemical footprinting is increasingly moving towards the mainstream. The report shares how businesses from across industries stack up against four pillars - management strategy, chemical inventory, footprint measurement and public disclosure and verification - and provides investors and purchasers with data that enables them to benchmark firms on their progress.

"The EPA is proposing changes to its chemical safety rules that will require companies in three industries - paper manufacturing, petroleum and coal products, and chemical manufacturing - to assess whether safer technologies and chemicals are feasible. "

"Toxics Across America" (Environmental Defense Fund) analyzes the production, consumption, and trade of 120 hazardous chemicals in the United States-complete with an interactive map showcasing the findings. The report finds that 14 chemicals are produced or imported in quantities exceeding one billion pounds per year, and that 8 chemicals are used in children's products.

In an effort to help companies use safer chemicals, the Clean Production Action (CPA), has released the next version of the GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals Hazard Assessment Guidance, adding information for using the GreenScreen List Translator as a first step in identifying hazardous chemicals in products.

Chances are you don't prioritize your holiday wish list based on the chemical composition of the products on it. But informed shoppers are increasingly scrutinizing the items they're bringing into their homes with an eye to whether they include chemicals harmful to human health. That's inspiring more retailers to make meaningful changes to their chemical disclosure and elimination policies, according to a new industry report card released ahead of Black Friday. 

Walmart announced in April that it has removed 95 percent of the 10 highest priority chemicals targeted by its pioneering Sustainable Chemistry Policy. This is striking progress, as Walmart announced its goal to eliminate these chemicals just two years ago.

A searchable website that allows the public to see which cosmetic products have been reported to contain toxic chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm is now online. Users can search the California Safe Cosmetics Program (CSCP) Product Database by product name, company name or chemical ingredient. As of November 2013, about 475 companies had submitted product information on roughly 30,000 products to the California Department of Public Health-run program.

Americans are being exposed to significantly lower levels of some phthalates - chemicals often referred to as plasticizers - that were banned from children's products in 2008, but exposures to other forms of these chemicals are rising steeply, according to a study led by researchers at University of California, San Francisco.

Chemical transport company NTP Logistics has signed the Chemical and Allied Industries' Association's Responsible Care commitment, a chemical industry environmental, health, safety and security performance initiative.

Materials market for energy efficient buildings, construction chemicals and flexible packaging will be the key growth areas in 2014 and beyond, according to Frost & Sullivan's predictions for the global chemical, materials and food industry.

The American Chemical Society's Green Chemistry Institute launched the Hydraulic Fracturing Roundtable, a consortium for businesses to explore sound chemical use in operations and sustainable alternatives to materials commonly used in natural gas exploration. Founding member companies include Apache, Dow Chemical, Marathon Oil, Nalco Holding, Rockwater Energy Solutions, and Trican Well Svc. Companies may sign on as founding members until December 31.

Eighty-one percent of mainstream chemical producers say it's very or moderately important to be a front runner in sustainable chemicals, according to a survey by Genomatica and ICIS.

Samsung, Sony and Panasonic are among the technology companies still using hazardous chemicals such as polyvinylchloride and brominated flame retardants in their products, according to a report by Greenpeace. While there has been some progress in recent years, the report shows that a number of leading consumer electronics companies are still continuing to use toxic chemicals in smartphones, televisions, tablets, computers and cables.

The British retailer Tesco announced a commitment to immediately start removing hazardous chemicals from the supply chain of its F&F clothing and footwear label. Tesco recently signed onto the Greenpeace Detox Campaign, agreeing to eliminate chemicals such as phthalates, heavy metals, and chlorinated solvents by 2020. The retailer joins 80 other brands and suppliers that have agreed to the campaign since it began in 2011.

Polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFASs, are chemicals used in nonstick cooking products and firefighting material and are known to cause health risks. Researchers found that 194 out of 4,864 water supplies in about 36 states had detectable levels of the chemicals, but most water treatment plants don't have the technology to remove it, putting millions of people at risk.

Retail giant Target has announced its commitment to reducing harmful chemicals from its products and investing in green chemistry with the release of a new chemical strategy that covers its entire value chain, operations and products.

Apple is banning the use of two potentially hazardous chemicals, benzene and n-hexane, during the final assembly of iPhones and iPads as part of the company's latest commitment to protect the factory workers who build its trendy devices.

Target has set a goal to remove "all unwanted chemicals" from its own product line by 2020. The company expanded its list of high-priority ingredients but removed endocrine-disrupting chemicals from that registry.

BASF has joined a national effort to help monarch butterfly populations by building habitats at several of its chemical complexes in the US, and most recently in Geismar, La. "From our standpoint as a company, sustainability and environmental stewardship are at the core of our operations," said BASF Geismar External Communications Manager Blythe Lamonica.