Extended Producer Responsibility

The notion of extended producer responsibility makes producers retain some degree of responsibility for their products long after they have left the factory gate. It has also become the subject of regulation in a number of jurisdictions—for example, the European Union's (EU's) End-of-life Vehicle Directive—though the precise way the concept is implemented still varies, with the concept of product-service systems perhaps a logical outcome.

The notion of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) is attracting the interest of government and industry in the context of moves toward more sustainable societies. The SCP concept featured prominently at the United Nations’ Johannesburg Summit and is part of the subsequent United Nations Environment Programme–driven Marrakech Process. Industry is consistently seen as a key player in this. Although it has traditionally ...