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King County Environmental Purchasing Program

Environmental Purchasing Bulletin #47:
Product Stewardship

PLEASE NOTE:  These bulletins, published since 1997, are historical.  The content is not updated.

Introduction

What is Product Stewardship?

Product Stewardship, sometimes called Extended Product Responsibility (EPR), is defined by the Northwest Product Stewardship Council (NWPSC) as:

A principle that directs all actors in the life cycle of a product to minimize the impacts of that product on the environment. Under Product Stewardship, all participants in the product life cycle -- designers, suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, consumers, recyclers and disposers -- share responsibility for the environmental effects of products.

For instance, Product Stewardship might include designing products that are made with fewer non renewable or toxic materials, making products with recycled content, or creating products that are durable or easily reused, repaired and recycled. It might also include selling a service rather than a product and/or, taking back products at the end of their useful life.

This bulletin includes resources to introduce you to this concept that's just starting to take shape here in the United States, and to provide you with information about an upcoming workshop here in Seattle.

Product Stewardship

EPA website - Extended Product Responsibility (EPR)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Solid Waste has launched its website on Extended Product Responsibility (EPR). The EPR website is designed to inform consumers, businesses, state and local government agencies and others about product stewardship. EPR is a product-oriented approach to environmental protection that challenges players throughout the product chain to work together to reduce the life-cycle environmental impacts of products. The site provides information on the concept, what initiatives are underway in the U.S. and internationally, and a wealth of related resources such as public-private alliances, academic research, publications, involved organizations, and more. The electronics and the packaging product sectors are featured now; special sections on other products will be added in future updates.

 

Workshop in Seattle - Product Stewardship

Products and the Environment NW
"Strategies for Environmentally Responsible Product Management"
April 3rd & 4th, 2000
Seattle Center - Northwest Rooms

This two day conference is organized by the Northwest Product Stewardship Council. You can sign up for one or both days. Following is an outline of the sessions that will be featured at this conference:

Day 1

Introducing Product Stewardship
Product Stewardship Practices
  • Environmentally sensitive materials/ resource conservation
  • Product as service & product take-back
  • Durability (product life extension)/ lightweighting (de-materialization)
EPR Around the World
Your Role in the Product Chain
  • Marketing and Customer Service
  • Product Development and Manufacturing
  • Purchasing and Distribution
Conclusion

Day 2

Implementing Product Stewardship
  • Communication
  • Policy
  • Technical Tools

Product Stewardship Opportunities

  • tires
  • computers
  • Medical sector
  • Retail Sector

For more information:

Registration form (Word document)
Brochure (includes registration form - PDF format)
Call Connie Bain at 206-217-9644, ext. 223 or email: bain@cultural.org

Additional Resources

Northwest Product Stewardship Council (NWPSC)
"a group of businesses, governments and non-profits working together to integrate Product Stewardship into the policy and economic structures of the Pacific Northwest"
EPA WasteWise Update "Extended Product Responsibility" (Acrobat PDF file)
"Provides examples of extended product responsibility (EPR), a systems approach to preventing pollution. Through EPR, players at every stage in the lifecycle of products collaborate to reduce the environmental impacts and resource use associated with the product system."
 
Electronic Product Recovery and Recycling (EPR2tm) Project
A project of the National Safety Council's Environmental Health Center
"The EPR2 Project promotes environmentally safe, responsible, and cost-effective management of electronic equipment that has reached the end of its useful life or no longer meets the needs of its original owners."
 
National Recycling Coalition's Electronics Recycling Initiative
"This project was launched in 1999 to promote environmentally and economically responsible management of electronic products throughout their lifecycle. This project sponsors monthly on-line forums on electronics recovery, development of a national database of electronics recyclers, dissemination of information on state government strategies for procuring electronic products, and development of educational materials for the general public on the need for and the "how to's" of recycling end-of-life electronics."

Environmental Purchasing Program

The King County Environmental Purchasing Program assists County agencies in implementation of King County Executive Policy CON-7-1-2, which requires agencies to use recycled and other environmentally preferable products wherever practicable.

The program assembles information about these products and makes it available to specific agency users who can evaluate them and develop applications in County projects.

These environmental purchasing bulletins contain information about the results of product evaluations and other accomplishments of County agencies. We hope this information will help you find ways to use recycled materials in the work of your agency and that you will contact us if we can help you with further information or if you have suggestions.

Environmental Purchasing Program
King County Procurement & Contract Services
E-mail
Published: March 10, 2000

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Updated: March 10, 2000

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