Center for Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering Webinar Series: :Understanding organizations’ pollution prevention while pursuing a green certification — The case of the U.S. EPA Safer Choice standard

Spekaer Angel Contreras Cruz is receiving his Ph.D. from Portland State University (PSU) where he is focusing on engineering technology management (ETM). He received his B.S. in industrial engineering and his M.S. in regional development and technology from the Institute of Technology in Oaxaca, Mexico. He is a teaching assistant at the PSU-ETM department, executive director of the Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology, and pollution prevention intern at the Pollution Prevention Resource Center.

Angel has been working on Safer Choice projects with companies and organizations since 2020. These projects
are related to technical assistance, training, outreach, and educational webinars in Spanish.

This presentation focuses on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Safer Choice standard. This certification program validates specific cleaning products to carry its label, which means the certified product is safe for human use and environmentally friendly (EPA, 2021). Overall, the Safer Choice certification helps companies to reduce and prevent pollution by integrating the standard into the whole supply chain process. A theoretical road-mapping approach is presented to identify the areas where this green certification prevents pollution.

Individuals requesting accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) should contact the ADA coordinator at least 48 hours prior to the event at 252-737-1018 / ada-coordinator@ecu.edu