Dr. James Kim, American Cleaning Institute (ACI) Senior Vice President, Science and Regulatory Affairs, is among a group of industry experts tapped to join the inaugural Green Seal® Standards Steering Committee. The creation of the committee "is part of Green Seal's commitment to taking bold action to align the consumer-packaged goods, retail, institutional and industrial products communities on the core elements of safer and more sustainable everyday products, including safer chemicals, responsible sourcing, low-impact manufacturing, sustainable packaging and verified performance and claims," according to a release. Members of the Steering Committee, including representatives from various ACI member companies, are "charged with overseeing a sweeping transformation of Green Seal's standards framework into a set of market-led health and environmental criteria poised for widespread marketplace adoption."

Daily cleaning of reusable water bottles is crucial to prevent bacterial growth. "The inside of a water bottle is the perfect damp environment for germs or mold to spread. Eventually, that could make you sick," says the American Cleaning Institute's Jessica Ek. Ek suggests a routine that involves filling the bottle with water and dish soap, soaking other parts in soapy water, scrubbing with a bottle brush, rinsing all the pieces and letting them dry before reassembly.

Sasol Executive Vice President Antje Gerber is leading a strategy for the company's international chemicals business that includes closing or "mothballing" underperforming plants, cutting costs and reorganizing around customer markets. Sasol is also adjusting service levels for certain large-volume chemicals.

Artificial intelligence and trade policy have the potential to reshape the global chemical landscape, asserts ICIS analyst John Richardson. In this piece, Richardson shares three potential scenarios for the industry over the next three years. The best-case scenario sees pragmatic trade policies and practical AI applications boosting petrochemical demand, while the worst-case scenario envisions a severe trade war and an AI bubble burst, leading to market fragmentation and significant capacity shutdowns.

Potential benefits of moving to a daytime cleaning schedule will vary depending on specific circumstances, experts note. Day cleaning may come with certain cost savings, although workers may face fewer interruptions at night.

The US has expanded the list of products that will be affected by tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The Section 232 tariffs will apply to a variety of products, including dishwashers, laundry machines and other appliances.

Procter & Gamble has set a company-wide objective to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its entire supply chain by 2040. The company's strategy involves reducing emissions from its direct operations and also working with suppliers to integrate sustainability into all stages, from sourcing raw materials to transporting finished products. P&G plans to balance any remaining emissions through natural or technical solutions that remove an equivalent amount of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste has unveiled a strategy to create a circular plastics economy by focusing on larger, more impactful programs in key regions such as India, Indonesia and South Africa. The strategy aims to attract more investment and address systemic barriers to plastic recycling, particularly flexible plastics. Since its 2019 launch, the alliance has reduced almost 240,000 metric tons of unmanaged plastic waste and generated $445 million in revenue.

ACI is planning some exciting new updates and changes to the Cleaning Chemistry Catalog (C3), but we need your help. Lend your expertise during the three-part webinar series, C3 Past, Present & Future, where you'll help ACI to advance C3 and its impact. Taking place September 3, Part One will reacquaint you with C3, review its origins and history and explain how it can be useful to industry, government and the general public. Then, on September 17, Part Two will review the environmental framework used to perform screening-level environmental risk assessments on the cleaning ingredients in C3. During the third and final part of the series, taking place September 24, representatives from Mintel will provide an overview of resources that can be leveraged to keep the C3 chemical inventory up to date. ACI members will be instrumental throughout the series, sharing insights and knowledge to help shape the future of C3. Learn more and register.