ADVISORY COMMITTEE" title on a glass compartment with conference room in the background

In January, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) named senior executives of RB, Procter & Gamble, SC Johnson, Givaudan, Kao, Pfizer, CVS Health, Walmart, and the Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA) to the UL Advisory Council. HCPA was the only trade association named and it will be represented by Jim Jones, executive vice president, strategic alliances and industry relations.

This past fall, HCPA President & CEO Steve Caldeira and the CEOs of five other allied trade associations (American Cleaning Institute, Consumer Healthcare Products Association, Council for Responsible Nutrition, Grocery Manufacturers Association, and Personal Care Product Council) sent a joint letter to the president and CEO of UL to initiate a three-way dialogue between product manufacturers, retailers, and UL-WERCs. UL responded positively to the trade association CEO letter by announcing that it would assemble an advisory group made up of manufacturers and retailers.

“As retailers’ sustainability and chemical policies continue to expand, there is a growing need for a robust and transparent forum in which manufacturers can work collaboratively with UL to better understand and support retailers’ use of the WERCSmart system. The advisory council is intended to foster common-sense solutions that will benefit all parties,” said Caldeira. “On behalf of HCPA members and our allied trade associations, I would like to thank UL for their leadership in establishing the advisory council.”

“I applaud the strong retailer participation on the Advisory Council,” said Jones. “HCPA has emerged as a trusted liaison between manufacturers and retailers on a number of issues, and this council has the potential to create responsible solutions and solve problems before they start. We all have the same goal – to effectively serve consumers and workers.”

The Council is currently tasked with developing practical approaches to meeting retailers’ evolving requests for more information about products sold in their stores. In addition, the group will work to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of the data submission process and to reduce costs for retailers, suppliers, and UL.

HCPA will also continue to work closely with our allied trade association partners to best inform the Advisory Council’s mission.