by Brianna Crandall — July 29, 2019 — Entry liquid ice melt from Branch Creek, a sustainability-focused subsidiary of SynaTek Solutions, is the first product to win the coveted Certification of Environmental Innovation under the latest version of requirements from global nonprofit environmental certification organization Green Seal. The company met a rigorous standard for transformative product innovation with a deicer certified to be safer for people and the planet while performing more effectively than market competitors.
Entry uses a potassium formate blend that spares floors, landscaping, concrete, campuses and corporate parks from the hazardous and corrosive effects of rock salt and other chloride-based deicing products. By breaking down the hydrogen bonds that form when water freezes, Entry removes thin layers of ice and snow and prevents new ones from accumulating up to an extra-low freezing point of minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
Doug Gatlin, CEO of Green Seal, stated:
Modern environmental challenges demand modern solutions to accelerate the transition to a circular economy — that’s why Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation Standard measures improved health and environmental outcomes, not just ingredient inputs. Branch Creek has raised the bar for what consumers should expect about the health, safety and effectiveness of deicers in the marketplace. Entry is a top-performing product that is significantly safer for families, pets, plants and aquatic life. We’re proud to put a Green Seal on Entry.
In a marketplace crowded with often unsubstantiated marketing claims about the health and safety of products, Green Seal takes the guesswork out of identifying proven-safer, proven-greener options with guaranteed performance. Green Seal standards prohibit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carcinogens, reproductive toxins, phthalates and other harmful ingredients that have no place in our homes, workplaces or environment. Green Seal evaluates the health and environmental impacts of a product in all stages of its life cycle, from raw material extraction, to manufacturing, to packaging, to how the product is used and disposed.
Nate Clemmer, founder of Branch Creek, explained:
Entry was designed from the molecular level to the final product packaging to reduce adverse environmental impacts, making it safer for families, pets, waterways, and floors. We are incredibly proud that Green Seal and customers like the Denver Broncos recognize our achievement.
When rock salt and other calcium, sodium and magnesium granular chloride products seep into groundwater supplies or wash into lakes or streams, they reduce the available oxygen levels and threaten aquatic wildlife, explains Green Seal. Salt-based ice melters also can erode soil, kill plants, burn grasses, and burn the skin and eyes of people and pets.
Entry uses a potassium formate blend that is formulated to be chloride-free and safer for people, animals, water, plants, concrete, asphalt, stone and metals than chloride-based products, when used as directed.
Safer for commercial floors
In addition to health and environmental benefits, Entry provides financial benefits by preventing damage to floors and carpets from tracking chloride-based products indoors. Entry’s neutral pH formulations and clear-as-water application eliminate tracking, reducing the costs associated with manual cleaning in commercial buildings. In the long-term, this reduces the need to fully strip and recoat floors, which represents a significant financial investment.
Used by the Denver Broncos
Entry is popular among professional organizations like the NFL’s Denver Broncos, whose Mile High Stadium and UCHealth Training Center both rely on Entry to keep high-traffic, high-stakes areas clear of snow, ice and corrosive residue. Click here to watch Denver Broncos staff explain why they chose Entry to protect Broncos athletes and fans from slip-and-fall incidents.
Available at select Ace Hardware stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com, wholesale customers can acquire Entry through Secure Winter Products.
Green Seal’s Environmental Innovation Beta Advisory Program is designed for manufacturers striving to advance product innovation for environmental good. The pilot program allows manufacturers pioneering the integration of leading-edge design and performance aspects into their products to field-test the new Innovation program while working closely with Green Seal, before the program is launched more widely in the market later this year.
Entry Deicer for Walkways and Entryways by Branch Creek is the first product to earn certification under the new pilot program. Three companies have certified their products under a previous version of the program — Floor Pads by Americo, Solvent Cement by Weld-On, and Floor Pads by 3M.
