2024 marks the 45th anniversary of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), which is a great occasion to ponder on the Society and its accomplishments. SETAC was established in 1979 due to the desire of scientists from the private, public, and government sectors to work collaboratively to identify solutions to environmental challenges. This came amidst a public outcry in the United States for regulatory protection of the environment from the unmanaged use of chemicals. As the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Currently, public concern and economic factors are putting political pressure on how best to address the critical issues of our time, including climate change, impacts to biodiversity, environmental justice, inclusion of indigenous values, exposures to known and uncharacterized stressors, and more. Thus, this is indeed the perfect time to reflect on the creation of SETAC, its current societal value, and ways in which we can increase SETAC's impact. As we contemplate the impetus for creating SETAC and the value it continues to bring to society, it is important to note that throughout SETAC's dynamic existence, one constant has been to mitigate the biases of the day while working to advance environmental quality. SETAC has always insisted on its foundational principle of including a balanced perspective when establishing multi- and transdisciplinary groups tasked with solving some of the most confounding environmental problems. It is clear that the multisectorial approach on which SETAC founded its brand unquestionably yields positive outcomes.

As stated in its articles of incorporation, SETAC was established to “provide a forum for communication among professionals in government, business, academia, and other segments of the society involved in the use, protection, and management of the environment and its protection.” Richard E. Tucker, who first conceived of SETAC, later stated to SETAC historians that “It has been [his] experience that when communication occurs freely, many differences can be resolved for the benefit of all.” That premise is still reflected in SETAC principles, and in fact, SETAC's success can be attributed to how tightly these principles have been guarded and how closely they have been applied. This is best demonstrated in how these standards of collaboration have been utilized to yield real-world results in developing methods and approaches in areas as diverse as risk assessment, environmental quality criteria for water, sediment and soil, and life cycle assessment.

SETAC programs welcome objective, factual, science-based input from individuals from different disciplines (e.g., biology, chemistry, ecology, and toxicology) and sectors (e.g., association, academic, business, government, and intergovernmental organizations). This is consistent with SETAC's founding principles and embraces our values of transparency, equity, diversity, inclusion, and civil discourse. As such, all views are recognized and valued. This broad outlook is what sets SETAC apart from other associations, whether academic, for public good, or otherwise. From the start, SETAC was intentionally developed as a home for all professionals interested in environmental issues to work collaboratively. SETAC was not intended to compete with societies that emphasized academics or environmental advocacy. SETAC's purpose was and remains to advance the field so that the most relevant and reliable information guides environmental decision-making.

Bias often gets in the way of finding common ground and broadly beneficial solutions. It is understood that we all hold biases, whether conscious or unconscious, and that it is imperative that we acknowledge, disclose, and collectively guard against them to allow for transparent collaborative discussions to reach workable solutions. It is further understood that we all have special interests, such as those related to our work affiliation, scientific viewpoint, politics, ideology, or some other agenda and motivation. Often, when those go unchecked, by us and others working with us, they may develop into conflicts of interest. Furthermore, it should be acknowledged that instances of unchecked conflicts of interest are evident in all sectors of the field of environmental science. Some are motivated by financial, professional, or political gain and can result in ethically dubious practices, like deliberate data manipulation. Other conflicts seem benign on the surface and come from what one might term a “pure” place but they can have an equally detrimental effect on science by manifesting in confirmation bias or unsubstantiated halo or horn effects. Mitigating for conflicts of interest is therefore imperative in all that we do. Since we all have biases and special interests, the only way to mitigate for them is through embracing transparency, diversity, inclusion, equity, and civil discourse (SETAC values). SETAC's long track record of advancing environmental assessment approaches to inform management decisions through multistakeholder Pellston Workshops® bears witness to this.

SETAC programs and work processes deliberately ensure that participants declare potential conflicts of interest to allow all participants to collaboratively guard against biases and work towards science-based consensus. Where there is clear potential for gain, whether financial, political or influence and status, SETAC policies dictate that the individual recuse themselves from participation. However, the mere existence of a potential conflict of interest does not preclude participation in SETAC programs when it is declared appropriately. Furthermore, workgroups are intentionally organized to include multiple sectors. Thus, it is expected that potential conflict of interest disclosures of participants will remind all to consider multiple viewpoints with different lenses and thus reach a more robust conclusion. At SETAC, all are welcome to contribute as it is understood that agreement can be achieved through transparency and equity, and moreover progress can only be made with the collaboration of all stakeholders.

2024 年是环境毒理学和化学学会 (SETAC) 成立 45 周年，这是一个思考该学会及其成就的好时机。SETAC 成立于 1979 年，是由于私营、公共和政府部门的科学家希望通过合作找出应对环境挑战的解决方案。此举正值美国公众强烈要求监管保护环境免受化学品无管理使用的影响。俗话说，事物变化越多，就越保持不变。目前，公众关注和经济因素正在对如何最好地解决我们这个时代的关键问题施加政治压力，包括气候变化、对生物多样性的影响、环境正义、包容土著价值观、暴露于已知和未知的压力源等。因此，现在确实是反思 SETAC 的创建、其当前的社会价值以及我们可以提高 SETAC 影响力的方法的最佳时机。当我们思考创建 SETAC 的动力及其继续为社会带来的价值时，值得注意的是，在 SETAC 的动态存在过程中，一个不变的因素就是在努力提高环境质量的同时减轻当今的偏见。SETAC 始终坚持其基本原则，即在建立负责解决一些最令人困惑的环境问题的多学科和跨学科小组时纳入平衡的视角。显然，SETAC 创立品牌所采用的多部门方法无疑会产生积极的成果。

正如其公司章程所述，SETAC 的成立是为了“为政府、企业、学术界和涉及环境利用、保护和管理及其保护的其他社会部门的专业人士提供一个交流论坛。” SETAC 的最初构想者理查德·E·塔克 (Richard E. Tucker) 后来向 SETAC 历史学家表示，“根据他的经验，当自由交流时，许多分歧都可以得到解决，造福所有人。” 这一前提仍然反映在 SETAC 原则中，事实上，SETAC 的成功可以归因于这些原则得到了多么严格的保护和应用。这一点最好地体现在如何利用这些合作标准来开发风险评估、水、沉积物和土壤的环境质量标准以及生命周期评估等领域的方法和途径，从而产生现实世界的结果。

SETAC 计划欢迎来自不同学科（例如生物学、化学、生态学和毒理学）和部门（例如协会、学术、商业、政府和政府间组织）的个人提供客观、事实、基于科学的意见。这符合 SETAC 的创立原则，并体现了我们透明、公平、多样性、包容性和公民对话的价值观。因此，所有观点都得到认可和重视。这种广阔的视野使 SETAC 区别于其他协会，无论是学术协会、公共利益协会还是其他协会。从一开始，SETAC 就有意将其发展为所有对环境问题感兴趣的专业人士协作工作的家园。SETAC 无意与强调学术或环境倡导的社团竞争。SETAC 的目的过去是、现在仍然是推动该领域发展，以便最相关、最可靠的信息指导环境决策。

偏见常常妨碍寻找共同点和广泛有益的解决方案。众所周知，我们所有人都存在偏见，无论是有意识的还是无意识的，我们必须承认、披露并集体防范这些偏见，以便进行透明的协作讨论，以达成可行的解决方案。进一步理解，我们都有特殊的兴趣，例如与我们的工作背景、科学观点、政治、意识形态或其他议程和动机相关的兴趣。通常，当我们和与我们合作的其他人不加以控制时，它们可能会发展成利益冲突。此外，应该承认，在环境科学领域的所有部门中，不受控制的利益冲突的情况都是显而易见的。有些是出于经济、专业或政治利益的动机，可能会导致道德上可疑的行为，例如故意数据操纵。其他冲突表面上似乎是良性的，来自人们可能称之为“纯粹”的地方，但它们可能通过证实偏见或未经证实的光环或喇叭效应而对科学产生同样有害的影响。因此，我们所做的一切都必须减少利益冲突。由于我们都有偏见和特殊利益，缓解这些偏见和特殊利益的唯一方法是拥抱透明度、多样性、包容性、公平和公民话语（SETAC 价值观）。SETAC 在通过多利益相关方 Pellston Workshops® 推进环境评估方法以告知管理决策方面的长期记录证明了这一点。

SETAC 计划和工作流程刻意确保参与者声明潜在的利益冲突，以便所有参与者共同防范偏见并努力达成基于科学的共识。如果存在明显的获利潜力，无论是财务、政治还是影响力和地位，SETAC 政策规定个人不得参与。然而，在适当声明的情况下，仅仅存在潜在利益冲突并不妨碍参与 SETAC 计划。此外，还特意组织了多个部门的工作组。因此，预计参与者潜在的利益冲突披露将提醒所有人以不同的视角考虑多种观点，从而得出更稳健的结论。在SETAC，欢迎所有人做出贡献，因为我们知道，通过透明度和公平性可以达成一致，而且只有通过所有利益相关者的合作才能取得进展。