SACRAMENTO /California Newswire/ — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement after his California Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Linda Adams and Danish Environmental Minister Troels Lund Poulsen signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish an agreement between California and Denmark to collaborate on green chemistry and share information and findings to implement California’s Green Chemistry program:

“Ensuring that the products Californians use every day are safe from hazardous chemicals is one of my top priorities, and that is exactly why I signed legislation last year to build the nation’s most comprehensive Green Chemistry program. Today, we are taking another important step forward by partnering with Denmark to share information and best practices about chemical management to better protect the safety of our people and environment. In addition to improving California’s ability to remove toxins from products, this agreement is a fantastic example of how subnational governments can take action to make real changes. I look forward to collaborating with more partners to further our goal of ensuring all products are safe for consumer use.”

In 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger signed legislation propelling California to the forefront of the nation with its comprehensive Green Chemistry program. California’s green chemistry approach seeks to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals in products and the generation of toxic wastes by changing how society designs, manufactures, and uses chemicals in processes and products. Rather than managing wastes after end of product life, green chemistry shifts the focus to designing chemicals, processes, and goods that have less or no adverse effects—throughout their lifecycle—on California’s people and our environment.