This month, Dignity Health, Kaiser Permanente, Staples, Marriott, Trillium Asset Management, and other U.S. businesses representing over $50 billion in investment and purchasing power will require their vendors, suppliers, and builders to use a new tool that measures the use of harmful chemicals in their products and production processes. Known as The Chemical Footprint Project, this online assessment tool measures overall corporate chemicals management performance by evaluating factors such as management strategy, chemical inventory, progress measurement, and public disclosure.

Dignity Health and Kaiser Permanente are the first major health systems in the country to use this tool, which will be launched on June 17th. By requiring vendors and builders to assess their company's chemical impact, healthcare leaders can make more informed purchasing decisions, and help drive transparency and hazard reduction. This toolkit joins another recent tool launched last November by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Their step-by-step toolkit will help businesses, including health care, and suppliers eliminate or reduce hazardous chemicals in the workplace.

[Source: Environmental Leader]