Steve Caldeira has been the president of the Household and Commercial Products Association (HCPA) for nearly a decade. He loves navigating all the moving parts – finance, membership, government relations, public policy, scientific, regulatory, HR, communications and media relations, to name a few. He says his team’s strong, collaborative mindset and inclination for open, honest dialogue form the core of its working relationship with local, state and federal governments, and other groups.

“We are so respected in DC and state houses across the country,” explained Calderia during a break in activities during the Association’s mid-year meeting. “We just don’t say no. We collaborate with unique stakeholders including NGOs and allied trade associations. We just get things done, passed and reauthorized.”

With a small but mighty staff of roughly 20 hardworking employees, the HCPA does it “leaner and meaner,” he says, than most other trade associations and with limited financial resources.

Happi sat down with Caldeira for an exclusive interview about how the association applies its resilience, thought leadership and collaborative power to navigate the industry’s most pressing issues.

Steve Caldeira: You must have industry collaborate with agencies: whether it’s California, Colorado, Washington, Connecticut, you name it — or the federal level — to get collective input to these proposed regulatory changes. It always works best with give and take, because you just can’t decide in a vacuum and expect miracles from companies that need more time or more input for these decisions.

Steve Caldeira: There was Trump 1.0, there was Biden and now Trump again. So, it’s a seesaw of regulations and not regulations. It’s trying to balance all the give and take — the pull of the federal agencies. On one hand, businesses need certainty and predictability – that’s good because they just want to know what they must deal with. On one hand, there was more regulations to deal with under President Biden, less regulations to deal with under President Trump. But, we still need a funded EPA, smartly, to advance Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act (PRIEA), to advance Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), to preserve the Safer Choice Program – and all the information technologies that are challenges for our members — to get these products reviewed and approved.

Steve Caldeira: I think many members over the years appreciate and respect that program because our members continually innovate. They try to bring more products to market — cleaner, greener, healthier — for the environment, public health. The program incentivizes that to reward these types of innovative products to bring to market. So, they get to use the EPA’s logo, Safer Choice, on their products; it’s very beneficial.

Steve Caldeira: Trying to navigate this political environment at the federal level, which is increasingly affecting the states. And trying to reinforce a better understanding of our issues on Capitol Hill and the state houses across the country. President Trump has been strong out of the box for the first five or six months, and Congress needs to be more engaged, especially on appropriations and funding for the EPA. I think all agencies could be more nimble, effective and efficient for sure, but we must do it right in terms of balancing industry with cutting costs.

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