Partners in Stewardship
Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative honors JohnsonDiversey as "champion" in environmental protection program
Leveraging the talents and expertise of our professional partners
is an essential component of JohnsonDiversey's industry leadership
in sustainable business practices. Collaborating with government agencies, suppliers, nongovernmental organizations, and industry groups enables us to drive sustainability thinking throughout our industry, and to set the stage for greater progress than we could achieve alone.
A significant case in point is our leadership in the Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative (SDSI) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The SDSI is part of the EPA's Design for the Environment program. It recognizes companies that voluntarily commit to the use of safer surfactants in cleaning and detergent products. Safer surfactants are those that quickly break down into nonpolluting compounds, helping protect aquatic life.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognizes JohnsonDiversey's contributions to the Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative at a conference attended by JohnsonDiversey's Vice President of Global Environmental Sustainability & Regulatory Affairs, Dr. Bob Israel (center).
JohnsonDiversey took the lead in the use of safer surfactants when we voluntarily discontinued the production and sale of products that contain alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEOs). APEOs, including nonylphenol ethoxylates, are known to be toxic to aquatic life and may disrupt the endocrine system. Use of APEOs is not regulated in the United States, but we opted to take them out of our products worldwide, beginning in 2004, because the evidence is clear that they harm the natural environment. APEOs have since been banned in Japan, and in some countries in Europe, and Canada is strengthening its regulation of products that contain APEOs.
But making the change ourselves was not enough. We worked with the EPA and other stakeholders in the National Pollution Prevention and Toxics Advisory Council to develop recommendations to the EPA that led to the SDSI program, which encourages manufacturers and users to phase out these dangerous chemicals.
"We especially appreciate the leadership role JohnsonDiversey played in the development of the SDSI program. Through its participation in the council, JohnsonDiversey was a catalyst for the creation of a program to recognize companies that use safer detergents in product formulations," said Barbara Stinson, senior partner of the Meridian Institute, an organization hired by the EPA to facilitiate the SDSI Advisory Council.
As part of the SDSI, JohnsonDiversey has been recognized as a "champion," the highest level of recognition afforded through the program. It is granted to those businesses that have demonstrated that they use only safer surfactants in their products and have documented a strategy to ensure that safer surfactants will be used.