For many of the world’s biggest companies that rely on contract processing to procure chemicals, the idea of ‘chemical footprinting’ has moved beyond a trend into the mainstream, according to a new report.
Edie.net reported on the latest release from the Chemical Footprint Project (CFP), which concluded that the trend had moved to the mainstream after it was revealed 24 big companies had chosen to not only voluntarily disclose their chemical footprint, but also look to measure and manage it in future.
Mark Rossi, the lead author of the report, said that this was the first time ever companies such as Johnson & Johnson and Levi Strauss, had participated in chemical usage monitoring.
By building up a database of this information, companies will be able to begin to benchmark their sustainability in terms of chemicals against wider industry.
It’s the same sentiment echoed by Walmart’s senior director for sustainability Zach Freeze: “CFP is making data available for benchmarking and gap analysis, which are critical for us to understand where our company and our suppliers are on the journey to more sustainable chemicals,” he says.
As well as having more transparency in how they do behave in terms of chemical use, businesses are looking to address weaknesses in their supply chains.
H&M and Marks and Spencer are both implementing new supply chain management systems after it was found facilities producing for large fashion brands were dumping toxic chemical waste into local water supplies. Elsewhere Tesco has vowed to ‘phase out’ toxic chemicals from its own brand clothing line supply chain.