For the past couple of years, the Product Stewardship Society has been scanning the horizon for regulatory intelligence. Members of its Thought Leadership Committee (pictured above in the photo) undertook this effort and would like to share their findings.

• Individuals’ companies have significantly different value chains (consumer electronics, petroleum, consulting, furniture, etc.) so each product steward should develop her own unique process for scanning the horizon to include tools, paid services, dedicated time, etc
• Federal Register (with Executive Order activity) and Trellis Group (formerly GreenBiz) were the most active sources for (non-paid) intelligence. Both indicate new trends. First, that the current US administration in utilizing EOs to such an extent, may be side stepping traditional regulatory and policy pathways, making this source an important one to follow. Secondly, sustainability (and consumer) organizations, such as Trellis Group, are driving both the conversation and pressure on regulatory authorities, making them key organizations to watch.
• That many ‘Free’ source sites are not regularly updated with a newsfeed or blog, making it difficult for the individual product steward to remain up-to-date and reducing confidence in these sources. However, paid services such as Enhesia (formerly Chemical Watch) generated significant activity.

For more information on PSS, especially volunteering for a committee, please visit the Product Stewardship Society website.