Responsible Battery Coalition launches to improve sustainability of batteries

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of concerns over the hazards associated with batteries, a new coalition was announced today to develop best practices for managing vehicle, industrial and stationary batteries.  The Responsible Battery Coalition was launched at the Green California Summit, bringing together organizations committed to improving the life-cycle management of the batteries of today and tomorrow.

The Coalition will advance the responsible production, transport, sale, use, reuse, recycling, and recovery of transportation, stationary, and industrial batteries and other energy storage devices, regardless of the technology used to make them.

"Every battery needs to be responsibly managed, and that's why we exist," said Executive Director Pat Hayes.  "While current vehicle batteries have a 99% recycling rate, our goal is 100%.  This also means preparing for the influx of advanced energy storage technologies hitting the market over the next five years.  Our work is to accelerate solutions to ensure all batteries are responsibly managed."

The Coalition believes batteries should be properly managed across their life-cycle to not cause harm to people or the environment and be reused where possible and ultimately recycled.

The Responsible Battery Coalition is partnering with leading sustainability non-governmental organizations to build on efforts already underway. The Coalition will focus on implementing sustainability metrics and tools established by the Sustainability Consortium (TSC) to raise the bar for battery life-cycle management, and will work with the Suppliers Partnership for the Environment to identify practices to apply to next generation batteries. The Coalition also partnered with Living Lands & Waters, a group dedicated to the conservation and cleaning of our nation's waterways, including recycling recovered batteries.

"This is the only organization that brings together all players in a battery's life-cycle including manufacturers, sellers, users, and recyclers," said Dr. Carole Mars, Senior Research Lead at the Sustainability Consortium.  "Responsible battery management requires coordination across the entire life-cycle of the battery, not just at end-of-life recycling."

The Coalition will collaborate with leading experts through its Science Advisory Board.  This independent Board will be led by Dr. Ramon Sanchez, Director of Sustainable Technologies and Health Program at Harvard University'sT.H. Chan School of Public Health. "There is a public and environmental health benefit to ensure that all batteries are recycled today," said Sanchez. "Just as important is ensuring that what we use in the future begins as recyclable or reusable."

Contact: Pat Hayes, Executive Director, Responsible Battery Coalition, pat@responsiblebattery.org, 513-267-1814, www.responsiblebatterycoalition.org 
Green California Summit: http://www.green-technology.org/gcsummit17/

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SOURCE Responsible Battery Coalition