How to Navigate The Unpriced Risk: Chemical Pollution as a balance sheet risk
Thursday, August 27, 12-1pm
The costs of chemical pollution are staggering. Pollution is a primary driver of biodiversity loss and over 3,600 synthetic chemicals have been found in human bodies, many linked to various health issues and costs. But chemical pollution isn't just an environmental and human health issue. It's a balance sheet risk. Bayer has $11B+ in RoundUp cancer lawsuits. 3M has $12.5B set aside for PFAS settlements and in Europe, PFAS cleanup could top €1 trillion. These aren't future risks. They're realities that business leaders and investors can no longer leave unmanaged and unpriced. ClimateWork Maine is pleased to partner with the Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN) at Clean Production Action to learn more about these issues and how companies can navigate them by building chemical risk into their business operations and stewardship.
Speaker: Alexandra McPherson is Director of the Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN) at Clean Production Action — an environmental solutions-based nonprofit she co-founded — where she mobilizes institutional investors to drive corporate accountability on chemical risk management and safer chemistry innovation. She brings deep expertise in communications and partnership development to multistakeholder initiatives spanning finance, industry, government, and environmental advocacy — including active engagement with the United Nations' Global Framework on Chemicals. Alexandra has forged academic partnerships resulting in the Collaborative for the Regenerative Economy (CoRE) at the University at Buffalo and Transition Finance for Sustainable Chemicals and Materials at UMass Lowell. She serves on UNH's Sustainability Advisory Board, and Change Chemistry's Member Advisory Committee. Outside work, she explores the wilderness on foot or on horse, tends her family's farm in Western New York, and cooks for anyone who will show up.
Sponsored by Drummond Woodsum
Drummond Woodsum is a full-service law firm offering industry-leading legal expertise in renewable energy development and sustainability, environmental regulation, and conservation strategy. We understand the importance of helping communities navigate change and are proud to support ClimateWork Maine's leadership in advancing practical solutions that build a more sustainable, resilient future for Maine.