Product Policy Institute Expands Board to Support Growing Producer Responsibility Movement

We've got three great new board members!  I'm very excited about what each one of them brings to the organization, MP

Product Policy Institute Expands Board to Support Growing Producer Responsibility Movement 

TODAY the Product Policy Institute (PPI) announced it has brought on three new board members to help grow the rising movement for a cradle-to-cradle economy currently sweeping the United States. A key policy driving the transformation is known as extended producer responsibility (EPR), or product stewardship, which shifts physical and financial responsibility for recycling products and packaging away from government to the parties that design them -- manufacturers. The primary goal is incentivizing better design for the environment by internalizing the costs of capturing, reusing and recycling materials that were formerly headed to landfills and waste incinerators.

When PPI started organizing local governments through Product Stewardship Councils to work for state EPR policies in 2004 there were only a handful of producer responsibility recycling laws for discarded products. Today, there are more than 80 state producer responsibility laws in 33 states covering ten categories of products, like electronics, bottles and cans, paint and batteries. And EPR policies are now being proposed for bulky consumer packaging, mattresses and carpet discards.

“With the surge in producer responsibility recycling legislation, PPI needs a large and diverse board that reflects the diversity and breadth of the movement,” said PPI Executive Director Bill Sheehan. “We have recruited three remarkable individuals with significant accomplishments and passion for building a sustainable future. We’re excited about having them on board as the organization begins the next chapter in our development.”

Melissa Walsh Innes (Yarmouth, ME) is an elected State Representative in the Maine Legislature, serving her second term. Serving on Maine’s Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, Melissa focuses on promoting the sustainable management of materials through product stewardship, both at the state and national level. Melissa was the sponsor of Maine’s first-in-the-nation Product Stewardship Framework Law of 2010, and currently works with legislators, businesses, NGO’s and consultants around the world to help foster a constructive dialogue in this policy area. Melissa blogs at http://theinneseprreport.blogspot.com/

“I’m very excited about joining the Board of Directors for Product Policy Institute in this very active time for EPR in the US,” said Innes. “I have worked closely with PPI over the last several years, and look forward to helping shape the course of the organization moving forward.”

Mark Hays (Washington, DC) coordinates Public Citizen’s campaign efforts to build public support for a constitutional amendment that would challenge corporate interference in our democracy and overturn precedents set by the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. FEC ruling. Before that, Mark spent six years as campaign strategist, researcher and policy analyst for Corporate Accountability International. He led development of the award-winning Think Outside the Bottle Campaign, which has worked to pressure bottled water giants such as Nestle Waters to change practices that impact the environment and people's access to water.

Martin Grohman, LEED AP, (Biddeford, ME) is Director of Sustainability for GAF, North America’s largest roofing manufacturer. In this role he is responsible for both market facing initiatives such as promoting shingle recycling, as well as internal efforts promoting sustainability, such as the Company’s Zero-Waste-to-Landfill effort. Marty is a 1989 graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, with a BS in chemical engineering. He was the co-founder of Correct Building Products, a manufacturer of composite decking, where he developed one of the industry’s first jobsite scrap takeback programs. The company made the Inc 500 List in 2004 and 2005 and exceeded $30MM in annual sales. In 2009, the company was acquired by GAF, and Marty joined the GAF team. Mr. Grohman is also a trustee of The Betterment Fund, a charitable organization that makes grants in conservation, education, and health care.

Product Policy Institute is a non-partisan research, communication and educational organization promoting policies that advance sustainable production and consumption, and good governance in North America. Founded in 2003, PPI works with stakeholders from all sides to advocate for policies that establish cradle-to-cradle producer responsibility for products and packaging.