Mission and Values

Our Mission

CEH protects people from toxic chemicals by working with communities, consumers, workers, government, and the private sector to demand and support business practices that are safe for public health and the environment.

Our Values

Health and Well-being

People and their health and well-being are our ultimate concerns. Air, water, food, and consumer products should be free of dangerous and untested chemicals.

Corporate Accountability and Transparency

Manufacturers of chemicals and products should be required to test their own products for safety, make that data public, and choose the alternatives that are safest for people and the environment.

The Precautionary Principle

Decision makers in government and business should heed the early warnings of Science. When credible evidence exists that a chemical can cause harm, business and government decision makers should err on the side of protecting people’s health.

Social and Environmental Justice

To protect the health of all people, we must address the disproportionate health effects of toxic chemicals caused by systemic racism and other social injustices. The movement to eliminate dangerous chemicals must move forward in partnership with Environmental Justice, Reproductive Justice, and other related movements working to address the pressing social justice issues of our day.

Healthy Economy

A healthy economy is one in which people’s fundamental needs are met efficiently, businesses are accountable, resources are shared in a way that minimizes disparities, and overall levels of consumption are sustainable. The true measure of a society’s health is not how much it consumes, but rather how effectively it meets the fundamental needs of all its people.

Healthy Democracy

Corporate influence over environmental health policy, regulation and enforcement, through campaign contributions and other means, undermines democracy and puts the health of people at risk. Court decisions have given corporations rights that should only be held by people. We believe that corporations are not people, and money is not speech.

Collaboration

By working together, government, community members, NGOs, and responsible businesses can eliminate the growing threat to human health posed by toxic chemicals and irresponsible business practices.