BETHESDA, MD – The Adhesive and Sealant Council (ASC) recently launched its first “ASC Action Center,” a grassroots advocacy software tool that allows member companies to respond directly to legislative bodies and regulatory agencies with guidance and commentary from industry.

The ASC Action Center, with its tagline, “Securing the Future with YOUR Voice,” will be housed on ASC’s member-facing website and will play a strong part in ASC’s efforts to be more proactive with government bodies and regulatory agencies in terms of sharing viewpoints, information and data. The ASC Action Center will allow members to: locate the appropriate contact person at the federal, state or local level, depending on the issue; agree to a draft ASC response letter, or make adjustments to incorporate the company’s unique position on a given topic; and distribute the response directly from the software platform.

The ASC Action Center launch is part of ASC’s proactive regulatory affairs strategy, developed in 2012 in an effort to add value to council membership.  The key milestones include: agreeing annually to a set of core issues that directly impact industry, setting up meetings with influencers that directly impact the core issues, establishing a network of ASC members that will respond to information needs, and linking members to influencers via the ASC Action Center.

ASC expects to encourage active participation from its members on four to five important pieces of legislation or regulatory action each year. For 2013, ASC Regulatory Affairs is focused on the following core issues: California Safer Chemicals Rule, Canadian Chemical Management Plan, MDI/TDI Chemical Action Plan, REACH Chemicals of High Concern List, South Coast Rule 1168, TSCA Modernization, and Use of USGBC’s LEED Rating System in Federal Buildings.

Members can access the ASC Action Center at www.ascouncil.org under “Advocacy—>ASC Action Center.”  The Action Center is open only to members, and anyone looking to access the tool and participate will need to authenticate using their login credentials.

ASC will invite members to participate in the Action Center, with links to the response tools via an Action Alert e-mail. This will be done periodically when ASC’s Regulatory Affairs team determines that a response will make a solid impact.