An industry awash in change

Abstract

You’d think executives at a conference for a highly regulated industry would be in a pretty good mood, given that the President of the U.S. recently pledged to reduce manufacturing regulations by 75%. And at the annual convention of the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) in Orlando late January, they were. But attendees also were aware that the direction their industry is taking—toward more sustainable, often biobased, products—is not going to change. Thus, chemical company executives, there to market their ingredients to customers in the consumer goods industry, reveled in the prospect of fewer restrictions. At the same time, they knew their task was to help those customers sell products to a public that is increasingly environmentally aware. At an issues briefing on the third day of the conference, Steve Christenson of the industrial service firm Ecolab cautioned attendees not to get too giddy at the prospect of a more lenient