Committees

All Full and Stakeholder Members have access to our committees. Learn more about BPI Membership here.

BPI has a number of Committees and Working Groups for members to participate in. Joining one or all of these groups is the best way to get involved with BPI and to lend your organization’s perspective to the many important issues facing compostable products and organics diversion today. These committees are chaired by a member of the BPI Board of Directors, and are open to employees of BPI Full and Stakeholder Industry Members. Committees typically meet via conference call once per month. To join a committee please fill out the "Join A Committee" form on the BPI Member Hub.

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Communications

Board Chairs: Renaud des Rosiers, Amy's and Paul Darby, Novamont

Staff Lead: Clifton Passow

Charter: A group of BPI Members working together to grow awareness of BPI and the overall value of compostable products by supporting and promoting the organization's Certification, Education, and Advocacy programs.

Monthly Call: First Wednesday of the month, 11 EST

Example Projects:

  • Work on voluntary industry guidelines for the labeling and identification of compostable products and packaging
  • Generate and communicate official BPI positions and statements
  • Participate in coordinated efforts to engage with media / press to highlight BPI and compostable products
  • Communicate with membership on regulatory topics and developments
  • Engage with strategic BPI projects that are Marketing and Communications related
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Standards & Procedures

Board Chairs: Peg Hoks, Georgia Pacific, Becky Brooks, NatureWorks, LLC, and Kyle Konczal, Eco-Products

Certifier & Technical Reviewer: Oliver Ehlert, DIN CERTCO

Staff Lead: Margaret Eldridge

Charter: A technical committee overseeing the validation process associated with issuing the BPI Certification Mark. The committee will also act as a liaison between BPI, BPI member companies, and standards bodies such as ASTM.

Monthly Call: Second Tuesday of every month, 10 EST

Example Projects:

  • Develop "Certification Scheme" to document BPI procedures used to validate compliance with ASTM Standard Specifications D6400 and D6868 (completed February 2019).
  • Updates to Certification Scheme as needed, based on areas that need clarification or improvement.
  • Discuss the activities of ASTM D20.96 (Environmentally Degradable and BioBased Products Subcommittee), and create updates to membership.
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Legislation & Advocacy

Board Chairs: Jeanette Hanna, BASF and Laurie Hansen Sheets, WPA (representative of Natureworks, LLC)

Staff Lead: Alex Truelove, Legislation & Advocacy Manager

Charter: A forum for discussing and collaborating on pending legislation that impacts compostable products and packaging, as well as the growth of the composting industry. Identify projects and resources needed to better advocate for compostables within zero waste systems.

Monthly Call: Last Tuesday of the month, 1 EST

Example Projects:

  • Discuss ongoing legislative threats and opportunities
  • Review activity detailed in national bill tracking service reporting
  • Coordinate efforts to influence legislative activity through public comments and other public feedback mechanisms
  • Draft model bill language and distribute to state and local governments

Standing Subcommittees:

  • Canada subcommittee: Monthly calls to discuss activities in Canada including the proposed federal single-use plastics prohibition, provincial policy statements, rules and regulations. Efforts are focused on how to coordinate industry responses.
  • Latin America subcommittee: Monthly calls focused on expansion of BPI’s certification territory into Mexico, Central and South America. This includes identifying priority countries for trademark registrations, analyzing compostability standards such as heavy metals requirements, and establishing partnerships with national organizations.
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Composter & Municipality

Board Chairs: Leslie Rodgers, Atlas Organics and Melissa Tashjian, Compost Crusader

Staff Lead: Rhodes Yepsen, Executive Director

Charter: A forum within BPI for Composters and Municipalities to provide essential feedback and direction on key Certification, Education, and Advocacy projects. It provides a direct feedback loop within the organization for Composters and Municipalities and provides a space for discussing and collaborating on pending legislation that impacts compostable products and packaging, as well as the growth of the composting industry. It also provides opportunity to identify projects and resources needed in order to better advocate for compostables within zero waste systems.

Monthly Call: Third Tuesday of the month, 3pm EST

Please Note: This committee is only open to Composters and Municipality Stakeholder Members.

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Material Producers

Board Chairs: Keith Edwards, Danimer, and Derek Atkinson, Total Corbion

Staff Lead: Rhodes Yepsen, Executive Director

Charter: To bring a collective voice to the unique issues faced by compostable material producers.

Topics of Focus:

  • An overwhelming number of associations, entities, and groups speaking about compostable materials without unification.
  • The need for compostable material education and clarity in the market with Brand Owners and Regulatory bodies.
  • A lack of general market unity with terminology, definitions and marketing claims.
  • The growing number of differing state and local regulations negatively impacting acceptance of compostable solutions.
  • Creating a new level of focus and adoption of compostable materials and applications across the market.
  • Building of new global affiliations and agreements to streamline approval of compostable solutions.

Monthly Call: Third Thursday of the month (bimonthly), 1pm EST

Please Note: This committee is only open to Members that produce certified base materials (e.g, biopolymers, paper, cellulosic films; that are then converted into intermediate / finished products for certification).