The following press release was published by the US EPA on Sept. 22. It is reproduced in full below.
RALEIGH (Sept. 22, 2021) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized Novozymes North America as a Safer Choice Partner of the Year award winner. The Raleigh, North Carolina based company was among 33 Safer Choice Partner of the Year award winners across 16 states and the District of Columbia for achievement in the design, manufacture, selection, and use of products with safer chemicals, as part of Pollution Prevention Week.
The Safer Choice program helps consumers and purchasers for facilities, such as schools and office buildings, find products that perform and are safer for human health and the environment. This year’s awardees have all shown a commitment to pollution prevention by reducing, eliminating, or preventing pollution at its source prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal.
“Today, we recognize the leadership and accomplishments of Safer Choice partners and stakeholders for their work helping consumers and commercial buyers identify products with safer chemical ingredients, without sacrificing quality or performance,” said Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff. “Additionally, I’m excited to see that the work done by many of this year’s awardees support the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of addressing climate change and advancing environmental justice.”
"We are proud to recognize Novozymes North America and their commitment to make it easier for consumers to find products that are safer for communities and the environment," said EPA Acting Region 4 Administrator John Blevins. “As a Safer Choice Partner of the Year Novozymes North America also demonstrates that safer chemicals are good for business.”
“This recognition is very significant,” said Arnaud Melin, Vice President of Consumer Biosolutions, Americas, at Novozymes, the world’s largest industrial biotechnology company. “It is well-aligned with our company purpose, which is to find biological solutions for better lives in a growing world. As a leading innovator of biotechnology, we have a tremendous responsibility to progress the use of sustainable and safe ingredients – putting front and centre human health and the environment, while helping drive change from ingredients derived from fossil fuels towards renewable resources.”
Novozymes is recognized as an outstanding Safer Choice Innovator. In 2020, Novozymes added six enzyme ingredients to CleanGredients, a database of chemical ingredients pre-approved for use in Safer Choice-certified products. Novozymes also supported 25 requests made by formulators and brand owners for certification of formulations by the Safer Choice program. Novozymes submitted new innovations for evaluation including three ingredients that allow formulators to remove boron from their formulations and use a more concentrated enzyme that delivers the same performance as an existing product at a lower dosage. The enzymes supplied by Novozymes are important to detergent efficacy in cold water. Cold water washing also contributes to EPA’s goal of addressing climate change.
Applicants for this year’s awards were encouraged to show how their work with safer chemistry promotes environmental justice, bolsters resilience to the impacts of climate change, results in cleaner air or water, or improves drinking water quality. The work of many of the organizations being recognized today addressed climate change, including by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, several awardees have worked to increase access to products with safer chemical ingredients in underserved communities. In the coming year, EPA hopes to build on this work by expanding the Safer Choice program to make products containing safer chemicals increasingly available to underserved communities, including communities of color and low-income communities.
The 2021 Partner of the Year award winners represent a wide variety of leadership organizations from each of the 10 EPA regions. These include businesses, comprising small- and medium-sized companies and women-owned companies; state and local governments; non-governmental organizations; associations; and others. The following organizations are being recognized this year:
• Household & Commercial Products Association, Washington, DC
• Jelmar, LLC, Skokie, Ill.
• Lake Monroe Sailing Association, Bloomington, Ind.
• Lemi Shine, Austin, Texas
• LightHouse For The Blind And Visually Impaired, San Francisco, Calif.
• LSI, Morristown, N.J.
• Novozymes North America, Raleigh, N.C.
• Oregon Department of Environmental Quality-Toxics Use Reduction Program, Ore.
• The Procter & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, Ohio
• PurposeBuilt Brands, Gurnee, Ill.
• Roger McFadden and Associates, LLC, Canby, Ore.
• Rust-Oleum Corporation, Vernon Hills, Ill.
• Sea Mar Community Health Centers, Seattle, Wash.
• Sensitive Home, Greenbrae, Calif.
• Seventh Generation, Burlington, Vt.
• University of Washington Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Continuing Education Programs, Seattle, Wash.
• Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, N.Y.
• Wexford Labs, Inc., Kirkwood, Mo.
More information on the 2021 Safer Choice Partner of the Year award winners and summaries of their accomplishments are available at: http://www.eap.gov/saferchoice/safer-choice-partner-year-awards.
Source: US EPA
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