Impact 2019, HCPA mid-year meeting
The Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA) hosted more than 400 attendees for its mid-year meeting IMPACT 2019, at The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC from 1 to 3 May, 2019. As part of the program, attendees met with approximately 40 offices in the US Senate and House of Representatives for the second annual HCPA Capitol Hill Day.
“The HCPA Mid-Year Meeting is a great opportunity for our industry to come together to address emerging trends and align on priority advocacy issues,” said Steve Caldeira, president and CEO of HCPA. “We had very productive discussions about ingredient communication – one of the most significant issues currently affecting household and commercial product manufacturers, suppliers and distributors.”
This year’s keynote speakers included Acting Deputy Administrator at the EPA Henry Darwin; Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention at the EPA Alexandra Dunn; Mark Vergnano, president and CEO of the Chemours Company; and the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business Professor Dr Jonah Berger, who is the New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On.
Each of the seven HCPA product divisions – Aerosol, Air Care, Antimicrobial, Cleaning, Floor Care, Industrial and Automotive, and Pest Management – conducted committee meetings to address issues and to inform policy positions. Additionally, the Federal, State and Regulatory Advisory Councils held a joint program to discuss priority issues, including ingredient communication, and the ongoing implementation of the 2017 California Cleaning Product Right to Know Act.
A special Retail Engagement Session focused on current chemical and sustainability retail policies. Chris Cassell from Lowe’s Home Improvement, Mike Schade from the Mind the Store Campaign, and Zachariah Parkhill from HCPA Ignite Solutions discussed how the Supplier Ingredient Reporting Work Group, an industry consortium, is helping suppliers make decisions that will meet retailers’ new chemical policies, as well as the retailer response to the Mind the Store Retail Report Card.
New to the program was a trade association CEO panel session, featuring Heidi Brock, president and CEO of the Aluminum Association; Cal Dooley, president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council ; and Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the grocery manufacturers association, and moderated by Steve Caldeira. These highly respected leaders discussed how the current political climate impacts the interests of the household and commercial products industry and business-related trade associations, specifically the issue of tariffs, ingredient communication, the importance of industry coalitions and the future of sustainability-related initiatives.
