Green and Clean Purchasing
Through our eco-friendly purchasing program, CEH continued to make significant strides towards eliminating harmful chemicals such as carcinogens, reproductive toxicants, and endocrine disruptors from everyday products such as foodware used by K-12 schools and commercial furniture and flooring. CEH partners with a variety of large-scale purchasers such as corporations, school districts, universities, and government bodies, advising them on how to advocate for and procure healthier products such as: foodware, furniture, carpet and flooring, with safer chemistry.
By providing procurement officers, government officials and other staff with one-on-one consulting, customized technical assistance, webinars, and user-friendly product guides, CEH empowers organizations that are responsible for millions of dollars’ worth of annual spending to make informed and healthier choices.
GreenScreen Certified
Alongside Clean Production Action (CPA), CEH co-released the long-awaited GreenScreen Certified standard for Reusable Food Packaging, Food Service Ware and Cookware. This tool provides alternatives to eliminate many of the concerns associated with single-use containers, such as exposure to toxic chemicals including PFAS or “forever chemicals,” bisphenols (like BPA), and phthalates, which have been shown to affect fertility and have been linked to cardiovascular problems. The standard also sets clear criteria for reusability and requires strict testing to ensure any materials (including recycled materials) used in food packaging, service ware, cookware and food containers, contain no known hazardous chemicals. GreenScreen Certification is an essential tool to empower purchasers to identify products free of PFAS and other known chemicals of concern, shift manufacturers towards using safer chemistry, and protect our health during eating and cooking.
“I applaud The Center for Environmental Health and Clean Production Action for establishing standards that put people and the planet first. This is a monumental step in creating systems that help us build a cleaner, greener future for the generations ahead.”
– Manasa Mantravadi, Founder & CEO of stainless-steel dishware brand Ahimsa
Schools and Reusables
In 2023, we built on our impact and push for a future of reusables by directly enlisting seven more Bay Area schools to serve youths on reusable stainless steel foodware. This represents just shy of 150,000 meals served on reusables, displacing over 600,000 single-use foodware items or over 10,000 pounds of single-use foodware not purchased (some found to be toxic by CEH). This work was a joint effort by CEH, StopWaste, the City of Fremont, Fremont Unified, Alameda Unified, Plastic Free Restaurants, and Ahimsa.
Our work with schools not only eliminates waste, but also fosters a mindset where students think about reusables, their health, and more upstream solutions, cementing their role as environmental stewards. Beyond our work in California, CEH has played an important role in accelerating the US movement toward reusables through national presentations, the dissemination of our Ditching Disposables toolkit, and working directly with school champions in states like Massachusetts, North Carolina, Louisiana, Montana, and Washington.