Detergent industry’s
commitment to sustainability
INTRODUCTION
The detergents industry is certainly very interested and
pro-active in pushing forward sustainable cleaning
and sustainability in these sectors is a key issue shared
by producers and consumers alike. Europe has been
caring for these matters for quite some time now,
which has led to the creation of a number of
institutions actively studying them. A.I.S.E.
(International Association for Soaps, Detergents and
Maintenance Products) has been committed to these
topics since its foundation. The A.I.S.E. is a network of
35 national associations in 31 countries representing
over 900 companies ranging from small and medium
sized (SMEs) to multi-nationals active in the consumer
goods and/or industrial and institutional (I&I) markets
– a market worth estimated at about 35 billion euro.
THE A.I.S.E. INFORMATION DAY IN
BRUSSELS: SUSTAINABILITY A COMMITMENT
Brussels, the heart of new Europe, is the place where
nations, once divided not only by geographical
borders, meet to seek a new way to meet commonly
shared needs. Harsh discussion is always present, and
chemical issues are no exception. Quite the contrary in
fact, hard feelings often make their way amongst
opposing parties involved with these topics.
The Information Day event organised by A.I.S.E. to
officially present its “Charter for Sustainable Cleaning”
and held on the 1st of December 2004 in Brussels at
the Renaissance Hotel provided a good example of the
different views over these issues in Europe.
The event was attended by leading companies of the
sector and by representatives of the EU Commission,
Parliament, NGO’s and other related industries and
organisations.
The high-level panel of speakers included:
Catherine Day, Director General of DG Environment,
Patrick Hennessy, DG Enterprise, Anders Wijkman
MEP, Chris Davies MEP, Simon Smits, representing the
Dutch Presidency and Chairman of the Council ad-hoc
Working Group on REACH, Bas de Leeuw, Head of the
Strategy Unit of the Production and Consumption
branch at the United Nations Environment Programme,
and Stefan Scheuer, Policy Director at the European
Environment Bureau.
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Other important attendees were representatives of
associations of the sector such as COLIPA (Belgium),
CEFIC (Belgium), FEDERCHIMICA (Italy), ASSOCASA
(Italy). Ernie Rosenberg, president of the SDA – the
American Soap and Detergent Association was also
present and represented the link between Europe and
the United States, two areas sharing different aspects
of the same issues. Rosenberg brought SDA’s
appreciation for this initiative to the audience and
described how the US deals with these subjects.
WHAT IS THE A.I.S.E. CHARTER FOR
SUSTAINABLE CLEANING?
The Charter for Sustainable Cleaning provides a single
framework that guides all companies in the industry to
implement the measures necessary to improve the
industry’s sustainability profile over the whole lifecycle
of products, from the sourcing of raw materials
through manufacturing and distribution to consumer
use and disposal.
To enhance transparency and credibility, the Charter
includes key performance indicators, which will be
collected and independently verified, to track
improvements in the industry’s sustainability profile
over time. The first full-year set of results will be
published in 2006 for performance in 2005.
The Charter is the latest in a progression of voluntary
initiatives undertaken by the A.I.S.E. and its network of
national industry associations and member companies.
It follows on from the Code of Good Environmental
Practice and the Washright (see washright.com)
campaign, launched in 1998, and the HERA (see
heraproject.com) targeted risk assessment initiative,
run jointly with the European chemicals industry.
In 1999, A.I.S.E. and CEFIC, the European chemicals
industry association, launched HERA (Human and
Environmental Risk Assessment), a European voluntary
initiative aimed at providing a common risk assessment
framework for the household cleaning products industry.
Specifically, the Charter was triggered by the Green
Paper on Integrated Product Policy, and the industry’s
efforts to see how it could best address key issues of
eco-efficient innovation in the detergents industry.
Charles Laroche, President of A.I.S.E., told the
audience “This Charter is a significant new Europe-
wide initiative to improve the detergent industry’s
 sustainability profile. It is part of this industry’s ongoing Cleaning:
commitment to turn sustainable development into
action, and we believe it is programmes such as these
that can help to reconcile the Johannesburg
environmental and social goals with the Lisbon
competitiveness agenda.”

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Companies participating in the Charter will apply
sustainability thinking at all phases of the product
life-cycle, from product design, through manufacture,
to use and disposal. It’s a process aiming at
safeguarding both the environment and the health and
wellness of customers and consumers.
The Charter itself consists of a set of Charter Industrial &
Institutional floor
Sustainability Procedures (CSPs) which companies applications:
implement in their management systems. Companies
participating in the Charter agree to be independently
verified for the Charter entrance check. Once the
criteria are met, they are entitled to use the Charter
logo. Companies participating in the Charter can be
found on the website (www.sustainable-cleaning.com).

Using this logo on the products is important for both

the manufacturer, who certifies it commits to the Charter
requirements the consumer, who can choose products
whose safety is guaranteed when shopping. This is the
reason why Mike Handley, Chief Executive Officer of
Mc Bride and A.I.S.E. Treasurer, strongly invited all the
companies of the sector to join A.I.S.E.’s lifecycle
approach during his presentation on the “Charter”.

A WORD FROM THE BRUSSELS INSTITUTIONS

Addressing the Information Day, Catherine Day,
Director-General of DG Environment, welcomed the
industry’s initiative: “I’m pleased to see that industry is
taking a proactive role in promoting sustainable
development. I believe that private sector initiatives
Laundry: such as the Charter are necessary in the process
towards sustainable development. We can only shift
towards sustainable consumption and production
patterns if we have the engagement of all stakeholders
and especially business.”
During the meeting. Catherine Day launched the new
A.I.S.E. Charter website - www.sustainable-
cleaning.com, a tool to guide all those willing to
seriously commit to sustainability of the soaps,
detergents and maintenance products industry...

Catherine Day’s speech aimed at reaching a much

larger audience than just the Information Day event
Dish: attendees.
Anyone working in the chemical sector today must face
a five-letter term haunting many people’s sleep these
days - REACH, regulations currently under
development which are giving rise to strong and harsh
discussion between opposing parties.
REACH was born with the best of intentions, yet when
it comes down to practical implementation, it clashes
against a situation that has to take into account
problems of no easy solution... The presence of EU

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 representatives and industry people at the Information
day meeting inevitably gave rise to a strong discussion
and fruitful exchange of perspectives. This report
doesn’t want to look into this discussion since this is not
the best place to do so. Yet, what we would like to
underline here is that organisations such as A.I.S.E.
founded well before Reach spontaneous initiatives by a
number of manufacturers who felt the need to join
together to face sustainability issues and safeguard
human and environmental safety be it through the
HERA project and/or the new industry initiative, the
Charter.
Under this view, the Charter for Sustainable Cleaning
ideally means crossing the finish line of the
responsible care pathway the chemical industry has
been following for many years, in line with its strong
commitment to sustainability. When a “United Europe”
was still a blurring concept in everyone’s mind, there
were people already working hard to work out
solutions to the commonly shared environment
protection needs.
Sustainability and responsible care have been priority
issues in the chemical industry ever since the concepts
were first created, that’s a fact, and so is the industry’s
response to these issues. The chemical industry has
been actively involved in finding solutions for these
issues for many years. Regulatory commissions must
become well aware of this and always seek fair
discussion and exchange of views, always bearing in
mind that they will always find chemical producers and
distributors very willing to cooperate and help on these
important issues.
Nabil Y. Sakkab, R&D Senior Vice-President for Global
Fabric and Home Care in Procter & Gamble, while
describing A.I.S.E.’s sustainability initiatives, expressed
the vision of the many producers among the
Information Day audience and confirmed A.I.S.E.’s
availability to support REACH to work out the best
possible solutions addressing the whole production
chain – from lab to shop shelves.
A.I.S.E.
Square Marie-Louise 49
B- 1000 Brussels - Belgium
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Speeches by Hennessy, Davies and Smits were in the
same line as A.I.S.E.’s view over the situation, and
contributed significantly to the discussion. We would
like to interpret the proactive discussion coming out
from the meeting as a sign of true willingness to set up
useful cooperation by all parties involved in these
issues.
To sum up, A.I.S.E.’s Information Day was an
opportunity for people from the industry, the various
associations and the press to meet and exchange
views. It was also a networking opportunity for all
attendees, an event that stimulates everyone to
continue along the path of sustainability, striving to
provide tools that are more and more effective in
improving the relationship between detergents and the
environment.
Our special thanks go to the A.I.S.E. staff for their
incredible commitment to these issues. We are now
entering a new phase. All presentations have been
made. Everyday life issues are the next focus –
companies need to take action now. The path to follow
has been laid down, objectives have been pinpointed,
tools have been provided, and A.I.S.E. is available for
any further clarification and support. A.I.S.E.’s
invitation is to all companies of the sector. They need to
seriously think about this opportunity they are offered,
to join forces to improve the quality of the environment
we all live in, to improve their own working
environment, and, not less important, to improve their
own image. It is a great communication opportunity, as
part of everyone’s effort to provide the clearest
information possible in the global community.
For further information please contact Maarten
Labberton, Director-General A.I.S.E.:
maarten.labberton@aise-net.org (tel +32 2 230 8371)
www.aise-net.org
www.sustainable-cleaning.com