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CVS Health, Vizient, Inc., and Rhode Island Treasury join the Chemical Footprint Project

CVS Health, Vizient, Inc., and Rhode Island Treasury join the Chemical Footprint Project

12/22/2016 Chemical Footprint Project Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DATE

CONTACT: Alison Poor, 781-391-6743x110, Clean Production Action

Increasing the momentum for companies to measure and report on their chemical management programs

Somerville, MA—Clean Production Action is pleased to announce three new Signatories to the Chemical Footprint Project: CVS Health, Vizient, Inc. and Rhode Island Treasury. Increasingly businesses, governments, investors, retailers, and purchasers are recognizing the potential for adverse effects caused by exposure to hazardous chemicals on human health and the environment. Looking to better understand where companies are on their journey to safer chemicals in products and supply chains, CVS Health, Vizient, Inc., and Rhode Island Treasury signed on to the Chemical Footprint Project.                           

“By benchmarking companies on their chemical management programs, highlighting leadership companies, and publicly reporting the data, the Chemical Footprint Project is catalyzing companies to implement policies and processes for safer chemicals,” explained Dr. Mark S. Rossi, co-founder of Chemical Footprint Project and Executive Director of Clean Production Action.

In signing on to the Chemical Footprint Project, CVS Health, Vizient, Inc., and Rhode Island Treasury join other leading purchasers (including Kaiser Permanente, Dignity Health, and Hackensack University Medical Center) and 40 investors from across the globe (Trillium Asset Management, Calvert Investments, BNP Paribas, and more) in seeking greater transparency in how companies management chemicals in their products and supply chains.

“The members we serve expect products that are safe and healthy, both for them and for the environment,” says Brent Gee, associate vice president, Strategic Programs of Vizient, Inc. “The Chemical Footprint Project allows us, working together with our suppliers, to measure our progress on the journey to safer chemicals, contributing to the best possible care for our members’ patients and caregivers as well as the well-being of our planet.”

“As investors, we want to know that the companies we are investing in are well-managed”, said Seth Magaziner, General Treasurer of the State of Rhode Island. “The Chemical Footprint Project provides an effective framework for companies to communicate complex chemicals management issues – across their supply chain — to all of its stakeholders.”

For companies interested in demonstrating their leadership by participating in the Chemical Footprint Project, the deadline for responding to the 2016 survey is January 31, 2017.

Similar to Carbon Footprinting, the Chemical Footprint Project aims to:

Establish a common metric for assessing progress to inherently safer chemicals,
Bring transparency to chemicals management practices, and
Benchmark company performance.

The Survey asks 20 questions in four key areas:

1. Management: What are a company’s chemical policies and strategies?

2. Inventory: How much does a company know about chemicals in its products?

3. Footprint: What is a company’s chemical footprint and what steps are being taken to substitute hazardous chemicals with safer alternatives?

4. Disclosure: How much information on chemicals does the company publicly disclose?

The Chemical Footprint Project’s Survey is the result of years of collaboration between the tool’s creators and leading firms in the healthcare, retail, government, building product, electronics, apparel, cleaning, beauty and personal care, and investment sectors. 

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About our newest Signatories:

CVS Health

CVS Health is a pharmacy innovation company helping people on their path to better health. Through its more than 9,600 retail pharmacies, more than 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with more than 80 million plan members, a dedicated senior pharmacy care business serving more than one million patients per year, and expanding specialty pharmacy services, the company enables people, businesses and communities to manage health in more affordable and effective ways. This unique integrated model increases access to quality care, delivers better health outcomes and lowers overall health care costs.

Vizient, Inc.

Vizient, Inc., the largest member-driven health care performance improvement company in the country, provides innovative data-driven solutions, expertise and collaborative opportunities that lead to improved patient outcomes and lower costs. Vizient serves a diverse membership and customer base which includes academic medical centers, pediatric facilities, community hospitals, integrated health delivery networks and non-acute health care providers and represents almost $100 billion in annual purchasing volume. The Vizient brand identity represents the integration of VHA Inc., University HealthSystem Consortium and Novation, which combined in 2015, as well as the recently acquired MedAssets’ Spend and Clinical Resource Management (SCM) segment, which includes Sg2. In 2016, Vizient received a World’s Most Ethical Company designation from the Ethisphere Institute. Vizient headquarters is based in Irving, Texas, with locations in Chicago and other cities across the United States.

Rhode Island Treasury

The Rhode Island Office of the General Treasurer works to strengthen the state’s financial and economic foundation through responsible stewardship of the State’s financial accounts and investments. The Treasurer also has responsibility for the oversight of the state pension system, ensuring retirement security for Rhode Island teachers, State and municipal employees, public safety officers and other public servants.

Chemical Footprint Project (CFP)

CFP is a project of Clean Production Action. The founding organizations of CFP are The Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, sustainability consultancy Pure Strategies, and Clean Production Action. The mission of CFP is to transform global chemical use by measuring and disclosing data on business progress to safer chemicals.