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Washington, D.C. (June 24, 2013): The Biobased Products Advocacy Consortium (B2PAC) debuted today a new name, logo, and web address to describe more fully and descriptively the wide range of industrial biotechnology products made by its member companies. The consortium is now known as the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group, or BRAG. The new name and logo were previewed last week at the 2013 Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology in Montreal.
As has been the consortium’s focus from the beginning, BRAG exists so that concerned stakeholders can: help the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) understand how these new biobased and renewable technologies fit into the existing Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) framework; advocate for fair and accurate treatment of biobased and renewable products in current TSCA reform efforts and EPA regulatory actions and policies; and educate the biobased and renewable community as to the proper approach to TSCA thereby avoiding mistakes in the approval process that could adversely affect commercializing not just one product, but all other products in the same chemical family.
The group’s website, BRAGinfo.org, offers a wealth of resources, including frequently asked questions (FAQ) about biobased and renewable products and policy, links to pertinent articles, a calendar of upcoming seminars and webinars of interest to the industrial biotechnology community, and news regarding renewable chemicals, biofuels, and other biobased products. BRAG also publishes the Biobased Products News and Policy Report, a complimentary weekly update with news from Capitol Hill affecting the industry with sections on federal and state policy, research, tax policy, the Renewable Fuel Standard, Department of Energy (DOE) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) developments, industry news, and more. Online subscription to the Biobased Products News and Policy Report is available from the BRAGinfo.org home page. BRAG advocacy and educational efforts can be followed at twitter.com/@biobasedpolicy. BRAG is managed by B&C® Consortia Management, L.L.C., an affiliate of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.
BRAG Workshop Advises on “Getting To Yes” with TSCA
On Tuesday, June 18, 2013, at the BIO World Congress, BRAG sponsored a workshop entitled “Commercializing Renewable Chemicals and TSCA: Getting To Yes,” which highlighted the potential pitfalls awaiting biobased and renewable chemicals on their way to EPA approval, pitfalls that are often unanticipated, resulting in delays, expense, and even termination on the road to commercialization. Lynn L. Bergeson of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. opened the workshop with an overview of the current challenge of trying to fit these new chemicals into the existing regulatory framework created by a 37-year-old law — TSCA. Ms. Bergeson highlighted the deep well of resources available to BRAG members, from former EPA directors, to Ph.D. organic chemists, to toxicologists, to lawyers who have worked with EPA regulation for decades, commenting that “we know the granularity of this space” and can help the biobased community navigate it.
Ms. Bergeson then turned the workshop over to Kathleen M. Roberts of B&C® Consortia Management, L.L.C., and Executive Director of BRAG, who took participants through a lively and informative presentation of the journey a biobased product will face in EPA’s current system of regulation. She pointed out that even if the end product is chemically identical to an existing (usually petroleum-based) chemical, if the byproducts or impurities are different, it can be designated a new chemical and subject to increased scrutiny. She called attention to the importance of the Pollution Prevention (P2) page, and gave examples of information that should be shared with EPA using the P2 page. Ms. Roberts also revealed that renewables are drawing a disproportionate levy of Significant New Use Rules (SNUR). Ms. Roberts’ presentation is available online.
BRAG Teams with SCD-iBIO for November TSCA Workshop
BRAG will be sponsoring an in-depth TSCA workshop with the Society for the Commercial Development of Industrial Biotechnology (SCD-iBIO) on November 11, 2013, in Philadelphia as part of the 2nd International SCD-iBIO Forum, Commercializing Global Green: Markets From The Value Chain Perspective. More information is available online.
Contact Heidi Brown Lewis.