Green Seal Forms Technical and Policy Group

WASHINGTON, DC -- Global non-profit Green Seal has formed a Technical and Policy Advisory Group, a standing body of subject matter experts, to advise Green Seal’s Standards Steering Committee on a sweeping transformation of the organization’s standard.

Working in support of the Standards Steering Committee, the advisory group will help define health and environmental performance benchmarks across five of the most meaningful leadership elements for everyday products: safer chemicals, responsible sourcing, low-impact manufacturing, sustainable packaging, and verified performance and claims.

The formation of the Technical and Policy Advisory Group marks another key milestone in Green Seal’s broader effort to align brands, retailers, and manufacturers around clear, credible requirements for safer and more sustainable everyday products and foster widespread adoption of this definition across the marketplace.

“The transformation of our standards framework depends on deep technical expertise and real-world market insight,” said Doug Gatlin, CEO of Green Seal. “This advisory group of experts will help ensure our standard is not only ambitious and science-based, but also clear, practical, and capable of driving meaningful change across the marketplace.”

Members of the Technical and Policy Advisory Group include:

Safer Chemicals

• Rich Engler, Director of Chemistry, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.;
• Michelle Gaither, Industrial Engineer, Pollution Prevention Resource Center;
• Lauren Heine, Director of Safer Materials & Data Integrity, ChemFORWARD;
• Jim Jones, President, J. Jones Consulting;
• Meg Whittaker, Managing Director & Chief Toxicologist, ToxServices.

Responsible Sourcing

• Kevin Dooley, Professor of Supply Chain Management, Arizona State University;
• David Havelick, Associate Director in the Office for Sustainability, Harvard University;
• Ashley Jordan, Corporate Campaign Advocate, Global Nature Program, NRDC;
• Chris Swensen, Technical Director, New Dawn Manufacturing Company.

Low-Impact Manufacturing

• Anika de la Flor, Director, Environmental Sustainability, DECIEM;
• Jamey Gaston, Vice President of Quality, Science, and Regulatory Affairs, Midlab;
• Linda Kelly, Senior Vice President, Certification Programs, ClimeCo.

Sustainable Packaging

• Molly Blessing, VP of Sustainability & Product Stewardship, Household & Commercial Products Association;
• Megan Byers, Program Director, Association of Plastic Recyclers and the U.S. Plastics Pact;
• Michelle Legatt, Founder & Director, Lab in the Woods;
• Elizabeth Ritch, Senior Manager, GreenBlue.

Verified Performance and Claims

• Rebecca Kaufold, Manager of Government Affairs & Sustainability, Spartan Chemical Company, Inc.;
• Sami Ki, Senior Manager of Sustainability and Product Stewardship, Household & Commercial Products Association;
• Tony Simas, Fractional CMO+, Client Growth Partners.

Advisory group members are industry practitioners with deep expertise in their fields who will play a critical role in ensuring Green Seal’s evolving standards framework remains scientifically rigorous, market-relevant, and feasible. The group will provide evidence-based guidance to shape strategic direction, review and strengthen draft criteria, and support final recommendations to the Steering Committee.

To learn more about Green Seal’s governance structure and standards development process, visit greenseal.org/governance or greenseal.org/technical-and-policy-advisory-group.

Products that earn Green Seal certification meet a truly comprehensive health and sustainability standard – from beginning to end. Hundreds of the world’s leading companies carry our certification to quickly signal their health and environmental leadership. No matter which shopping aisle, Green Seal helps buyers everywhere make healthier, safer choices with confidence.

Visit greenseal.org