Breaking Bad News Gently: The Art of the Product Steward's Tough Talk
In this episode, our guests, Michelle Baker and Beth Dederick, discuss the intricacies of product stewardship. Michelle, with over 25 years of experience in product stewardship and regulatory compliance, and Beth, with more than 20 years in environmental consulting, share their expertise on the importance of product stewardship. They explain the concept, the roles of various stakeholders, and the global implications of regulatory compliance. The discussion explores challenges such as delivering bad news to stakeholders and the need for early involvement of product stewards in product development to avoid costly mistakes. They emphasize the importance of communication, forward-thinking, and collaboration within organizations to ensure product safety, sustainability, and compliance.
00:00 Introduction and Guest Introductions
02:10 Understanding Product Stewardship
05:31 Corporate Stakeholders in Product Stewardship
11:30 Global Collaboration and Compliance Challenges
14:57 Delivering Bad News in Product Stewardship
25:15 Proactive Planning and Forecasting
28:52 Feedback on Delivering Bad News
30:20 Navigating Product Stewardship Challenges
32:04 Company Philosophy on Compliance
32:54 Reformulation and Market Impact
38:12 Sustainability and Product Stewardship
40:27 Communication and Training
48:47 Consultants and Collaboration
50:33 Benefits of Early Product Stewardship
53:25 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Beth Dederick
Partner
Beth Dederick, PhD, has 20 years of environmental consulting experience focused on supporting the chemical, consumer product, oil and gas, and manufacturing industries in complying with global product stewardship requirements and implementing sustainability goals. Beth has presented at numerous global conferences and led global compliance programs for clients with target markets in Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Beth is also leading a number of LCA studies for a variety of products, from cosmetics to manufactured goods. She is the Past President of the Society for Chemical Hazard Communication, having completed her two-year term as President in 2024. Beth has a Masters Degree in Environmental Health Science and a PhD in Environmental Health Policy from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Michelle Baker
Senior Product Stewardship Manager
Michelle has more than 25 years experience in product stewardship and regulatory compliance. She has a BS in Occupational Safety and Health and an MS in Public Health. She is a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager and Certified Dangerous Goods Professional by Institute of Hazardous Materials Management. She is a Registered SDS and Label Author by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) Registry Programs. She is currently employed at Zeon Chemicals L.P. in Louisville, KY as the Senior Product Stewardship Manager.
She is considered an expert in the field of hazard communication, hazardous materials management, chemical control regulation and dangerous goods transportation. Her responsibilities cover a wide range of regulatory requirements including REACH, global chemical control legislation such as TSCA, SDS authoring, dangerous goods classification, and product safety packaging and labeling regulations.
Michelle is often asked to speak at various professional meetings and conferences. She has a reputation for convincing management, sales, marketing, and research teams to become involved in and enthusiastic about product stewardship and compliance.
Michelle is a former Program Chair and member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Chemical Hazard Communication, SCHC, from whom she received an award for completion of more than 200 hours of continuing education in the field of hazard communication and regulatory compliance. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Kentuckiana Chapter of Hazardous Materials Managers, a co… Read More