How this Canadian Company is Leading the Fight Against Forever Chemicals

They’re in your dental floss, your cleaning products, your electronics and so much more. Society is becoming more aware of the presence of PFAS—per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances—in everyday items. And as new regulations come into play to protect consumers from these chemicals, a Canadian company called Assent is helping businesses around the world address the challenge. Assent’s supply chain sustainability solution manages data for a wide range of product compliance and ESG regulations that impact global manufacturers.

“PFAS are a family of synthetic chemicals. They provide a lot of high-performance properties that have really changed the way we do things. For example, they can provide a low or no friction surface to your cookware or molded parts, or make your jacket waterproof or your pizza box oil-proof,” says Cally Edgren, vice president of regulatory and sustainability at Assent. 

There are thousands of types of PFAS, also known as forever chemicals. “You can imagine with all these fantastic properties, they’ve found their way into all sorts of nooks and crannies of manufacturing - both products and the processes to make them,” Edgren says. 

But PFAS has become a lesson in unintended consequences. “The same characteristics that give them these properties make them very difficult to break down. They’ve been given the nickname ‘forever chemicals’ because they persist in the environment and they bioaccumulate in our bodies,” Edgren explains. 

Growing awareness, increasing rules

Not that long ago, most people had no idea about the chemical agents in the products they use every day. But as awareness and concerns have grown, governments around the world are taking steps to identify and root out the issue. 

With so many types of PFAS in use, and in so many different products, that’s no small task. 

“I feel like it changes by the day. I was just talking to a customer today about a new restriction in Japan that kicks in in January,” says Edgren. “It’s like Whack-A-Mole.”

Here in Canada, for example, new regulations will require companies to provide detailed information about their use of over 300 specific PFAS in 2023 by the end of January. Reporting obligations apply to companies who manufacture PFAS, import PFAS (even if it’s already been incorporated into a product) or use PFAS to make another product.  

“So much of what goes into products happens outside the four walls of the manufacturer,” says Catherine Cormier, chief product officer at Assent. “We are giving companies the tools and capabilities to look inside of those parts and identify the substances they need to be aware of. Because ultimately, as manufacturers, they are responsible.”

With countless moving parts—shifting suppliers, changing formulations, those “Whack-A-Mole” regulations—maintaining that visibility is too much for any one manufacturer to keep on top of. And so Assent keeps track of forever chemicals in real time so its customers can focus on putting out great products. To date, Assent has received declarations for more than 2.4 million components, details that would be near-impossible for a given company to amass on their own.

The future of PFAS

Not only does this information position companies to be able to respond to new regulations and reporting requirements with ease, it will help them to dodge supply chain issues as parts and supplies that contain PFAS become obsolete. Even better, it will help them to design future products that will meet the demands of consumers increasingly looking for products that are kinder to their bodies and the environment. 

“Manufacturers need to be able to iterate on their products and change their products with velocity. They can’t afford to build a product, send it to manufacturing, and then wait months for information about the product,” Cormier says. “Assent enables engineers with information right at their fingertips so they can design for sustainability up front.”

For Cormier, who’s been with the company from its earlier growth stage through to its recent milestone of hitting $100-million USD in annual recurring revenue, it’s a dream to see the potential come to life.

“Until now, these capabilities have been aspirational,” she says. “But we can see this tipping point where instead of thinking about compliance and sustainability as an afterthought, they are going to be able to do it earlier in their cycles.”

Learn more about how Assent is empowering companies to get a handle on PFAS at  assent.com/solutions/product-compliance/pfas/.