• Product stewardship is a product-focused approach to environmental defense.

Product stewardship is a product-focused approach to environmental defense, also commonly known as extended product responsibility (EPR). Product stewardship calls on those in the product life cycle — manufacturers, retailers, users, and disposers — to share responsibility for reducing the impact that their products have on the environment.

While product stewardship realizes that manufacturers must take on a great deal of the responsibility for reducing the environmental footprint of products, any positive change cannot be achieved by producers alone. Retailers, consumers, and the waste management infrastructure must also play a part in order to implement the most practicable, cost-effective solutions possible. Depending on the product systems, solutions and roles will almost certainly vary.

Companies that accept the challenge of product stewardship may realize significant business opportunities. By rethinking products, relationships with the supply chain, and customer needs, some manufacturers are growing their productivity, lowering costs, promoting product and market innovation, and supplying customers with additional value at a smaller cost to the environment. Phasing out the use of toxic substances, designing products for reuse and recyclability, and developing takeback programs are just some of the numerous opportunities for companies to become stronger environmental stewards of their own products. Forward-thinking businesses have realized that demonstrating corporate citizenship and efficient resource productivity are key components to developing competitive advantage and growing shareholder wealth.