In this 2015 presentation, the focus is placed firmly on the concept of product stewardship and the advantages to organisations who pursue product stewardship certification.

1. Understanding Safety & Product Stewardship:
Global Business Partners in Business & SHEQ
Management
Paul A. Zoubek, CSP, CIH
Zoubek Consulting, LLC
San Diego, CA USA
September 17, 2015
paul@zoubekconsulting.com
+1-619-677-8682

2. • My Experience
• Work with electronics recycler
on EOHS Management
Systems as required by their
product stewardship certifying
body
• Ensure components of their
required management system
structure are in compliance
with both regulatory
requirements & product
stewards certification
Presentation Overview

3. • Define product stewardship
• Internal:
• EOHS management systems
• Focus in workplace safety & in house
environmental compliance
• External:
• Focus on product life with minimal impact
on the environment
• Programs
• EPRP
• Circular Economy
• EPDs & HPDs
• Summary/Success
Presentation Overview

4. Product Stewardship Defined
• Product-centered approach to environmental protection
• Known as extended product responsibility (EPR)
• Manufacturers, retailers, users, and disposers—share
responsibility for reducing the environmental impacts of
products
• To be competitive in a global market, you have to be able to
demonstrate that your product has less impact
environmentally
Definition

5. Product Stewardship Defined
• Simple Example: Container Deposit
• A fee is paid to buy the bottle,
separately from the fee to buy what
it contains
• If the bottle is returned, the fee is
returned, and the supplier must
return the bottle for re-use or
recycling
• If the bottle is not returned, the
collected fee can be used to pay for
landfill or litter control measures
Definition

6. Product Stewardship Defined
• Green Technology: Conserve the natural environment and
resources, and to curb the negative impacts of human
involvement
• Sustainablity: Endurance of systems and processes
• Stewardship: Understanding, controlling, and
communicating a product's environmental, health, and safety
related effects throughout its life cycle
Definition

7. Product Stewardship Defined
• Certification
• Third party certification
• Provide criteria for globally
responsible product production
from cradle to grave
• Reduce environmental impacts
• Operate in conformity with
international laws, potentially
limiting the export of toxic waste
from developed to developing
countries
Definition

8. Product Stewardship Defined
• Certifying Bodies (Examples):
• Forest Stewardship Council
• Tissue Product Manufacturing
• Guitar Manufacturing
• Lumber Retail
• Wood Product Manufacturing
• Publishing
• E-Stewards
• Standard for Responsible
Recycling and Reuse of
Electronic Equipment
Definition

9. Stewardship & EOHS Management Systems
• Adherence to an EOHS Management System:
• Provide framework for ensuring that an organization manages
risk and maximizes business value
• Examples
• ISO 14001: Environmental Management System
• OHSAS 18001: Occupational Health and Safety
Management Systems
• ANSI Z10: Occupational Health & Safety Management
Systems
Internal

10. Stewardship & EOHS Management Systems
• Typical components (in order) to an
EOHS Management System:
• Policy
• Planning
• Implementation & Operation
• Checking
• Management Review
Internal

11. Stewardship & EOHS Management Systems
• Policy Establishment
• Commitment to continual
improvement & pollution prevention
• A commitment to comply with legal
requirements
• Framework for set up and review of
EOHS objectives and targets
• Documented, implemented and
maintained
• Communicated organization members
& public
Internal

12. Stewardship & EOHS Management Systems
• Planning
• Environmental & Workplace Safety Aspects
• Determine aspect of operation that will
have impact on environment &
workplace safety/health
• It must be specific to operations
performed at a specific site or company
• Conduct Risk Assessment
• Identify & Prioritize Risk Assessment
Results
Internal

13. Stewardship & EOHS Management Systems
• Planning (Example)
• An electronics recycler uses processes
which involve crushing, shredding
and pulverizing of metals from
electronic components. The following
needed to identified, evaluated &
controlled:
• Metal content of materials (i.e.:
Lead, Cadmium, etc.)
• Workplace airborne dust exposures
(industrial hygiene data)
Internal

14. Stewardship & EOHS Management Systems
• Planning (Example)
• An electronics recycler
• Workplace exposure controls
(ventilation)
• Environmental controls (dust
control systems)
• Facility controls (housekeeping,
cleaning of surfaces)
• Materials shipping (container type,
destination)
Internal

15. Stewardship & EOHS Management Systems
• Implementation & Operation
• Make available all resources to
establish & maintain EOHS
management systems
• Competence, training, & awareness
• Participation & communication
• Safety meetings
• Communication of health & safety
information to workers
• Establish & maintain safety teams
Internal

16. Stewardship & EOHS Management Systems
• Implementation & Operation
• Customer Relations: Provide or allow
review of verifiable records
• Wastes for final deposition
• Equipment & components for re-use
Internal

17. Stewardship & EOHS Management Systems
• Implementation & Operation
• Risk Reduction:
• Did controls reduce risk?
• How can risk be reduced to
acceptable levels?
• In the recycling example, product
stewardship required that semi-
annual industrial hygiene monitoring
be performed until exposures were
less than half of lowest published
occupational exposure limit
Internal

18. Stewardship & EOHS Management Systems
• Checking
• Incident Reporting System
• Industrial Hygiene
Monitoring
• Product Tracking into & out
of a facility
Internal

19. Stewardship & EOHS Management Systems
• Management Review
• Legal Requirements
• Review of non-conformity
corrective & preventative actions
• Auditing
Internal

20. Stewardship Programs
• Extended Producer Responsibility Programs (EPRP)
• Provides incentives for producers to make product design
changes that would reduce waste management costs
• Focuses on Product recyclability and reducing material use
• Environmental objective of a decreased total environmental
impact of a product
• Making the manufacturer of the product responsible for the
entire life-cycle of the product and especially for the take-
back, recycling and final disposal
External

21. Stewardship Programs (EPRP Examples)
• Packaging Recovery Organization Europe (PRO EUROPE)
• “Green Dot" (Green Emblem) concept implementation of
Producer Responsibility
• Green Dot symbol for the organization of recovery, sorting and
recycling of sales packaging
• Packaging of material from manufacturers who pay a license fee
• Industrial companies and commercial enterprises are relieved of
their individual obligation to take back used sales packaging
External

22. Stewardship Programs (EPRP Examples)
• British Columbia EPRP (BC/Canada)
• Sets up programs based on product
• Examples:
• Tire Stewardship BC: Manage scrap
tire recycling program on behalf of tire
retailers in the province
• Canadian Battery Association:
Operates a Province-wide recycling
network for consumer and industrial
lead-acid batteries
• Light Recycle: Recycling program for
residential-use lighting products
External

23. Stewardship Programs (Circular Economy)
• Linear Economy:
characterized by a ‘Take,
Make, Use, Dispose’
philosophy
• Circular Economy: Aimed at
keeping products and their
materials in play for longer
periods of time.
External

24. Stewardship Programs (Circular Economy)
• Six Principles:
• Materials: Cycled indefinitely
• Energy: Derived from renewable/sustainable sources
• Ecosystem: Human activities support ecosystem
• Value: Resources are used to generate value (i.e.: financial)
• Health: Activities support human health
• Society: Support a healthy & cohesive society
External

25. Stewardship Programs (Circular Economy)
• Food Cycle (Amsterdam example)
• Reduce imports/exports of food
• Focus on sustainable & seasonal food
production
• Focus on crop rotation & fewer
pesticides
• Less fossil fuel for production
• Fewer miles for food transportation
• Less packaging, refrigeration, storage
• At sewage plant, sewage sludge is used
for fertilizer closing the food cycle loopExternal

26. Stewardship Programs (EPDs & HPDs)
• Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)
• Verified and registered document that communicates
transparent and comparable information about the life-
cycle environmental impact of products
• Quantifies Environmental Impact
• Declarations include information on the environmental
impact of raw material, energy use, content of materials,
emissions to air, soil and water and waste generation
• ISO 14040 certification
External

27. Stewardship Programs (EPDs & HPDs)
• Forest Stewardship Council Example
(Wood vs. Plastic)
• Wood is renewable
• Can store carbon, rather than
releasing
• When harvested, new trees planted
• Wood is recyclable
• Bark can be used a mulch
• Can be cut into difference uses
• Wood is biodegradable
External

28. Stewardship Programs (EPDs & HPDs)
• Health Product Declaration (HPD)
• Disclosure of the potential chemicals of concern in products
by comparing product ingredients to a wide variety of
“hazard” lists published by government authorities and
scientific associations.
• For Example: Greenscreen for Safer Chemicals
• Goal: inform consumers about the types of chemicals that
are in the products they install in their buildings.
External

29. Summary
• Internal Benefits of Product Stewards (company)
• Economic
• Sustainable packaging=$143 Billion industry globally
• Electronics Recycling=$1.5 Billion in US in 2005
• Reduction in tax dollars related to waste permitting
• “Concern for Environment” recognition
• EOHS Management Systems
• Reduced worker exposures
• Increase worker safety, decreased
regulatory burden
Summary

30. Summary
• External Benefits
• Environmental
• Use of fewer virgin materials
• Reduction in waste through
reuse and recycling
• Reduction in energy use
yields less pollution,
including gases that
contribute to climate change.
• Reduction of toxic chemicals
into the environment
Summary

31. Summary
• External Benefits
• Financial (Example)
• US Scrap Industry generates
$90 Billion/year in activity
• Supports ½ Million Jobs
• 0.62% of total US economy
• $4.3 billion in state and local
revenues annually
Summary

32. Summary
• Product Stewards
• Distinguish their services for customers seeking assurance
that products are being managed in an environmentally and
globally responsible manner
• Reduce worker exposures, injuries, and lost time
• Recognize and manage EHS and operational risks
• Create opportunities for business improvement, improved
compliance, and risk reduction
• Lay groundwork for successful customer audits
& regulatory inspections
Summary

33. Summary
• My electronics recycler example
• Reduction in worker exposure to toxic metals to nearly half
the workplace exposure limits
• Reduction injuries & workers compensation costs
• Reduction in electronic components being potentially
landfilled (California mandate)
• Cost benefit to company in sales of scavenged components
for resale
• Workforce retention and job security
Summary

34. Summary
• More Information
• Product Steward Certifying Bodies
• Product Stewardship Society (Global)
• productstewards.org
Summary