An interview with Chris Hagerbaumer, Deputy Director, and Colin Price, Director of Market Innovation

RP

What is your organization’s most notable accomplishment to date in the field of toxics reduction?

OEC

Oregon Senate Bill 478, the Toxic Free Kids Act, which was passed in 2015. The Act protects kids from exposure to toxics in children’s products by requiring manufacturers to notify health officials when products sold in Oregon contain chemicals of concern. Additionally, the Act helps to phase out those chemicals for three product categories.

The Toxic Free Kids Act starts with those who are most vulnerable: children. Through the law, Oregon’s health officials are tracking where and how kids are exposed to carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and other harmful chemicals.

We believe our campaign was successful because it was collaborative in nature and addressed multiple pollutants, instead of single chemicals. Once completed, it will have a wide scale social and environmental impact on industry in our state and beyond. The effort had broad financial and partnership support.

RP

What was the plan you followed to achieve this accomplishment?

OEC

We used a set of actions that are typical for a legislative campaign with four phases: strategic planning, campaign planning, campaign implementation and campaign closure. During strategic planning, we identified the problem. In this case, there was strong scientific evidence linked to health hazards. These chemicals have been found in our air, dust and water, and in the bodies of Oregonians. Even a small exposure to chemicals can affect a child’s developing brain and body. During campaign planning we identified specific solutions. We felt strongly that going the legislative route was the way to win. We established a series of legislative goals and actions to address the problem.

Now we’re involved in the follow-up and advocacy to complete the campaign. Once the law is passed there are still many steps to take in order to ensure its full implementation.

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) enlists a group of advisors to share expertise in drafting the rules, and then takes public comment from anyone who might want to influence those rules. OEC participates in this public process to retain the intent of the law that was passed.

The final part of rulemaking will take place in the year to come. It will be a tough battle because the chemical industry and trade associations are still trying to undermine the Act’s efficacy. OHA will be setting rules for how industry must prove that substitute chemicals are safer than the toxics they will replace. We must continue to speak on behalf of the health of Oregon’s kids.

RP

What would you like your organization to be known for?

OEC

We’d like to be known as an organization that pursues transformational change. We value small victories, but we seek systematic transformation opportunities, recognizing that Oregon occupies a unique place in the environmental, health, sustainability and nonprofit world.

RP

What outlets are you using to communicate your mission to the public?

OEC

We use earned media and owned media. As far as getting the word out to the most people, earned media is the best. For branding our organization we use radio, print media and TV. The topic of toxics reduction works well for TV. Our Health Communications & Outreach Director appears on TV a lot and motivates consumers to get involved with retailers by requesting healthier products.

RP

What are the most important actions you’ve taken within your organization to support your mission? Within your portfolio of strategic actions, which ones are getting the most traction?

OEC

OEC is a multi-issue organization. Broadly, impacting public policy is our biggest strategic action. The best thing we can do is to make sure harmful chemicals are not in products and the environment in the first place. That’s why we focus on changing laws. With our public procurement work, it’s a different angle than policy. If enough furniture manufacturers realize that they need to take the harmful chemicals out, that’s a market-based approach that also works well for us. Our Safer Products Innovation Strategy is a good example of this.

RP

How is the Safer Products Innovation Strategy influencing other organizational initiatives or goals?

OEC

As an organization, we care about air pollution and climate pollution. The Safer Products Innovation Strategy has absolutely influenced our organization’s work in these areas. In our direct sphere of influence, the collaboration with Safer States grew out of our Safer Products Innovation Strategy’s procurement work. This national coalition has continued to grow with increasing participation and sophistication. The Healthy Purchasing Coalition, which was formed as a result of the Safer Products Innovation Strategy, has paid off exponentially. Coalition members—governments, higher education institutions, ports in Oregon, California and British Columbia, businesses and nonprofits—are integrating human health and chemical hazard into their procurement processes in a variety of ways.

RP

What advice would you give other nonprofit organizations based on the lessons you’ve learned through your work?

OEC

Try to take a collaborative approach. Look for opportunities to build coalitions. Get people behind what you want to see happen. It’s important to apply a scientific lens, an economic lens, and an equity lens to everything you do so that the work you do is based on research, supports development of better business models, and also reduces toxics stressors.

Also, try to figure out how to communicate in ways that resonate emotionally with people. It’s critical that solutions are grounded in science. That being said, solutions need a certain amount of emotional appeal to reach decision makers and the public. Very few people read reports. The only way to win is with emotional appeal.