August 2024 Update

We have had a packed summer moving along new projects, bringing a new member into the fold, and continuing to collaborate with our partners as we build the Network’s impact and momentum.

Read on to catch up on the latest updates from CEPN and opportunities from our members.

Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn to stay in the know and please reach out to us for any questions, comments, or feedback! Thank you for your interest in our work.

CEPN is Growing!

CEPN is pleased to announce that actnano, Inc. has become the newest member of the Network, joining over 20 member organizations in collaborating to reduce and eliminate workers’ exposure to toxic chemicals in the electronics supply chain.

actnano is focused on bringing safer chemistry solutions to industries, including the electronics sector, by providing safer alternatives to the chemicals found in traditional conformal coatings (eg. isocyanates, PFAS). They are an exciting addition to our Network and we look forward to working with them more closely.
Learn more about actnano on their website.

CEPN continues to seek diverse participants from across the supply chain who are innovators and natural collaborators, experts in their segment of the supply chain and committed to the goals of CEPN. If your organization is interested in joining CEPN, please contact us.

GIZ Funded Chemical Safety Training Beta Testing

After a successful chemical safety training development and commitment gathering phase, CEPN is moving to Phase 2 of this project to beta test some of the trainings in supplier facilities located in Vietnam and Malaysia. This project is funded through a grant received from the Initiative for Global Solidarity, a program of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. Over the next couple months, CEPN will be working to select facilities to receive/beta test the training, identify local service providers, and begin training the trainers. Beta testing of the training will begin in November.

CEPN Welcomes Michelle Turner to the Team!

CEPN is excited to welcome Michelle Turner to the team as our new Senior Fellow. She will be managing CEPN's Chemical Safety Training project.

Michelle has 25+ years’ experience working in environmental regulatory compliance, public health, and sustainability. After spending time in academia teaching and performing research on health effects of air pollution, Michelle returned to the private sector where she has been focused on environmental health and safety (EHS) compliance, EHS management systems, supply chain sustainability and chemical management. Michelle obtained a Ph.D. in Public Health, Epidemiology and a M.S. in Environmental Health Sciences from UCLA. She also holds a Certificate in Sustainable Business Practices from UCSD. Michelle currently lives and works in Carlsbad, California.

US Chips Incentives Program References CEPN as a Best Management Practice

CEPN’s Toward Zero Exposure program and our Joint Chemical Safety Committee guidance has been referenced as a Best Management Practice (BMP) in the Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Modernization and Expansion of Existing Semiconductor Fabrication Facilities under the CHIPS Incentives Program.

This document, published on June 28, 2024, was issued by the CHIPS Program Office within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Alternatives Assessment Center for Excellence: Seeking Partners to Support and Participate in an NMP Pilot

The Center of Excellence for Alternatives Assessment, a program of the Institute for Safer Chemical Alternatives, is developing a pilot alternatives assessment roadmap for the use of N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP) in various applications in semiconductor manufacturing.

This is the first step in the process of creating a more detailed Alternatives Assessment roadmap that will support chemical users and suppliers by identifying, screening, and evaluating potential alternatives for NMP.

The Center is seeking private and public partners to support and participate in the NMP roadmap project, starting in September 2024. Learn more about the project here and reach out to Joel Tickner to get involved!

CEPN Member Launches New Tool

CEPN member ChemFORWARD recently launched a new resource to support safer cleaner and degreaser formulations. Developed with support from TZE member, Apple, CleanScreen is available to formulators and contract manufacturers at no cost for a limited time.

You can find more information here.

Participate in a Global Survey to Support the Development of the Global Frameworks on Chemicals

The Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC) in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Global Framework on Chemicals and Waste (GFC) seeks industry input on the Global Framework for Chemicals.

The Global Framework on Chemicals: For a Planet Free of Harm from Chemicals and Waste was adopted by the fifth International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM-5), held in September 2023 in Bonn, Germany, by close to one thousand delegates from around the world representing governments, industry and civil society.

Fill out the survey here.