Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN) is a consortium of institutional investors, representing $22 billion in shareholder assets, which are using their combined financial muscle to ensure the companies they invest in are taking appropriate steps to reduce risks associated with the toxic chemicals used in their products. Inspired by the effectiveness of the Investor Network on Climate Risk and The Carbon Disclosure Project in encouraging companies to recognize the impact of global climate change on long-term corporate value, IEHN has filed 10 shareholder resolutions in the 2006 proxy season and 13 for 2007 to encourage companies to adopt safer chemical policies.

IEHN collaborative recently commissioned a report by the New York based research firm, Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, Inc., to evaluate how companies in four industry sectors (Household and Personal Care Products, Multi-Line Retail, Healthcare Equipment and Supplies and Household Durables) will prevent loss of market share and access to major markets due to “toxic lockouts.”

According to Executive Director Richard A. Liroff, Ph.D., growing consumer and market interest in “safer chemicals” is spurring the development of new markets for higher value added and differentiated products. “Companies such as Herman Miller, Steelcase, and Marks and Spencer are differentiating themselves in the marketplace with safer products. Chemical companies like DuPont are also entering the green chemistry space, winning recognition for new products even as they face continuing liability and market exclusion risks for their older product lines,” he said.

Innovest cites new laws and regulations in California and Europe as driving market transformation. The report also comments that Wal-Mart “will fundamentally alter the marketplace this year by announcing a chemicals screening policy for all its suppliers.” This and other private sector environmentally preferable purchasing programs are likely to create economies of scale that bring down the costs of safer alternative products.

IEHN consists of Adrian Dominican Sisters, As You Sow Foundation, Boston Common Asset Management, LLC, Calvert Group, Ltd., Citizens Advisers, Inc., Domini Social Investments, LLC, Green Century Capital Management, Inc., Harrington Investments, Inc., Inhance Investment Management, Inc., Maryknoll Sisters, Mercy Investment Program, Newground Social Investment, Pax World Funds, Sierra Club Mutual Funds, Sisters of Mercy, Regional Community of Detroit, Trillium Asset Management Corporation, and Trinity Health. For more information, visit www.iehn.org.