Extended Producer Responsibility in Cleaner Production: Policy Principle to Promote Environmental Improvements of Product Systems

The focus of the environmental policy-making has shifted noticeably during the last decade. From having played a fairly insignificant role in the 1980s and earlier, product-related environmental problems have attracted an ever-increasing interest from policy-makers, especially in industrialised countries in North-Western Europe. Considerable attention has been devoted to the concept of extended producer responsibility (EPR) and today this concept is spread to most OECD countries and also outside this group of countries. This dissertation shows how the concept was developed, presents a model for various types of responsibilities and defines the EPR concept as a policy principle for environmental improvements of products and product systems. Experiences from existing EPR systems are studied and complemented with an analysis of proposed system implementations. The results are combined with a model for how an EPR system can be developed in order to give the incentives for change to the relevant actors. Conclusions concerning how the details of EPR systems should be organised are presented, as well as a discussion about the advantages and disadvantages with involving various actors in the policy development process and the role of these actors in the implementation of the system

EPR in a non-OECD Context: An introduction to research projects on the management of WEEE

There has been an upsurge of interest in the principle of extended producer responsibility (EPR) among policy makers and scholars in non-OECD countries. The principle has been applied and its impacts studied rather extensively in various OECD countries. However, similar experiences are largely lacking in non-OECD countries. This paper presents some ongoing research and preliminary findings on the management of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The research aims to explore both potentials and limitations of EPR under non-OECD conditions. Hitherto, there have been four projects in three countries: India, Thailand, and Argentina. The first project in India in 2007 investigated the specificity of this non-OECD context and the explanatory boundary of the principle. The second phase of the research studies a WEEE policy development in the three countries. At the time of writing, they appear to follow different courses of action. The India Government issued a guideline suggesting an incorporation of WEEE under the existing Hazardous Waste Rules. The Thai Government shows particular interest in economic instruments, such as product fees and deposit-refund system, and has been working on a draft law that would govern the use of these instruments for the management of some WEEE and other used products. In Argentina, a senator proposed a dedicated WEEE framework law based on EPR. Our analysis identifies collection of post-consumer WEEE as a major practical bottleneck particularly when there is a strong presence of the so-called informal sector. EPR can be a driving force for improvements by mobilising resources from producers and channelling them to end-of-life management. In addition, in a long run, it can lead to design changes in products and product systems. However, market anomalies in a non-OECD context such as sizeable black/grey markets for several product groups and/or illegal import of used products can put identifiable legal producers at a disadvantageous position and retard feedback mechanisms in an EPR programme. Thus, the applicability of policy alternatives should be assessed against the conditions of particular contexts. We also discuss the importance of problem definition in policy processes

The Student Loan Bankruptcy Gap

Each year, a quarter of a million student loan debtors file for bankruptcy. Of those, fewer than three hundred discharge their educational debt. That is a success rate of just 0.1 percent. This chasm between success and failure is the titular “Student Loan Bankruptcy Gap,” and it is a phenomenon that is unprecedented in the law. Drawing upon an original dataset of nearly five hundred adversary proceedings, this Article examines three key facets of the Student Loan Bankruptcy Gap. First, it establishes the true breadth of the gap. Second, it explores why the gap has persisted for more than two decades and, in doing so, uncovers a creditor case-selection strategy designed to deter debtors from bringing legitimate claims. And third, it identifies solutions that have the potential to close the Student Loan Bankruptcy Gap and bring debt relief to millions of individuals

Extended Producer Responsibility for End-of-Life Vehicles in Sweden: analysis of effectiveness and socio-economic consequences

Study commissioned by BIL Sweden for the Committee for Producer Responsibility Review (M 2000:01) på uppdrag av BIL Swede

Producentansvar för bilar: En analys av effektivitet och samhällsekonomiska konsekvenser

Underlag till utredningen för översyn av producentansvaret (M 2000:01) på uppdrag av BIL Swede

Corporate management tools to address sustainability challenges - A reflection on the progress and difficulties experienced during the last decade

A number of corporate management tools have been developed during the last decades. This has given the impression that industry is in the lead for developing a more environmentally sound and sustainability-adopted future as concerns the production and the products they are working responsible from. This paper includes a short review of some key tools, including cleaner production assessments, life cycle assessments, environmental management systems, environmental management accounting and various types of eco-labels. The review examines the fundamental strengths and weaknesses with the tools, paying special attention to the rationale for companies to use such tools. The conclusion is that many of the tools have not lead to improvements that can be substantiated by current research. However. the level of activities has been quite good and there is a staggering number of more than 129 000 companies that have been certified according to ISO 14001. The biggest challenge seems to be connected to the tools that are striving for life cycle improvements, and here the author sees a role for more active policymaking from the side of governments

LED and Life Cycles : Life Cycle Environmental Concerns in Procurement of LED Light

The development of LED light has been rapid in the last decade and it has become the most attractive lighting solution for many buyers. The reasons have to do with the high energy efficiency of these lamps as compared to the traditional incandescent lamps. As society is trying to cope with climate change threats and all the connected issues related to nature and life of people, all opportunities to save energy and other resources should be considered. But few solutions are without any less positive sides and this short publication will discuss what a change to LED light can mean and, especially, how procurers in organisations, such as local and regional authorities, as well as, larger enterprises can act in order to minimise the negative aspects of LED light and enhance the positive aspects.The publication builds on three reports put together by students in the Master in Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management (MESPOM) Programme during their studies at Lund University. In their third semester, during the three years 2015-2017, the student groups attended the course Sustainable Environmental Development (SED) and contributed to the project Lighting Metropolis by studying questions related to the life cycle impacts of LED light and procurement of lighting solutions. These reports are available from Lund University and from Lighting Metropolis. The front pages of the reports are seen on the back cover of this report.In this short guidance document we have selected the main messages for procurers and everyone else deciding about what light solutions to buy. All solutions are related to certain challenges, so the message is not one without negative, as well as positive, aspects. However, the future of the LED light seems to be bright and, for most situations, we haven’t yet seen any serious contenders. This doesn’t mean that in the future there won’t be such alternatives, but a real challenger seems far away and LED lights have in the last years improved so that in almost all real situations it is difficult to see a competitor.So the question rather becomes how to act in order to profit from the strengths of LED lights and how to minimise the weaker sides of such light solutions. This is also the purpose of this short publication