Safer Chemistry Impact Fund launches framework to measure safer chemistry

The Safer Chemistry Impact Fund has released a new open-architecture metrics framework to help companies measure chemical hazards across products and supply chains. The tool is designed to fill a gap long covered by carbon reporting, giving organizations a common way to benchmark progress toward safer chemistry.

Why it matters: - Companies have long had standardized ways to measure carbon emissions, but safer chemistry has lacked a comparable system. - The new framework is designed to help organizations identify chemicals of concern, spot missing information and track progress toward safer alternatives. - Better measurement can support product stewardship, sustainability reporting, procurement and target setting.

What happened: - The Safer Chemistry Impact Fund released the Safer Chemistry Impact Metrics Framework on Aug. 19, 2026. - The framework is an open-architecture tool for consistently measuring chemical hazards across products and supply chains. - The release was announced in Washington, D.C. - The framework is available at the metrics page. - Registration is open for a September informational webinar at the webinar registration page.

The details: - The framework turns chemical inventory and hazard information into standardized metrics. - Organizations can use the metrics to identify chemicals of concern, understand where information is missing, benchmark progress and evaluate safer alternatives. - The framework is not a certification program or a regulatory requirement. - It serves as a common foundation for measurement and reporting. - The framework helps organizations characterize chemical hazards, identify data gaps and report chemical footprint metrics. - The framework can also support future standards development. - One core principle is that chemicals with incomplete hazard data cannot receive a “safer” designation until the missing information is filled in. - That approach is intended to reduce the risk of swapping one hazardous chemical for another that is simply less studied.

Between the lines: - The framework reflects three years of practical implementation across beauty and personal care, apparel and footwear, consumer electronics and the built environment. - Those pilots showed that standardized metrics can work across complex global supply chains. - The framework was developed with industry leaders, technical experts, investors, nonprofit organizations and other stakeholders. - The launch positions SCI Fund as an infrastructure player trying to make safer chemistry measurable in the same way emissions are tracked. - The open model suggests the methodology will evolve as more organizations use it and share feedback.

What the leaders said: - Bill Walsh, board chair of the Safer Chemistry Impact Fund, said organizations cannot solve a problem they cannot measure. - Walsh said the framework gives organizations a practical way to identify priorities, make better decisions and measure progress toward safer chemistry. - Rachel Simon, senior manager of Safer Chemistry Collaboratives at ChemFORWARD, said several years of investment are converging around shared measurement. - Simon said ChemFORWARD has shown that trusted hazard information can be generated and shared at scale. - Simon said the framework will help organizations generate comparable metrics, collaborate more effectively and accelerate the transition to safer chemistry.

What's next: - SCI Fund is inviting companies, investors, technical experts and other stakeholders to implement the framework and share results. - Version 1 is the start of an open, collaborative process to strengthen the methodology through real-world use. - The framework is expected to inform more transparent chemical reporting and future standard-setting efforts.

The bottom line: - SCI Fund is trying to make safer chemistry measurable, comparable and actionable across global supply chains.