This research investigates the responsiveness of companies in the Australian packaging supply chain to stakeholder concerns about the environmental impacts of packaging. The National Packaging Covenant (NPC), which was introduced in 1999, is based on the principle of shared responsibility for the 'life cycle' environmental impacts of packaging. This principle is commonly referred to as 'product stewardship' (PS). The primary focus of the thesis is corporate environmental policies and practices, but within a broader institutional framework. The institutionalisation of PS as a relatively new framework for corporate behaviour is occurring within an 'organisational field' at several levels. At the broadest (macro) level it is being institutionalised through the interaction of the state, industry associations and environmental non-government organisations (ENGOs) in policy processes. Within the packaging supply chain (meso level) it is being institutionalised through changes to corporate policy and practice within different sectors of the packaging supply chain, including raw material suppliers, packaging manufacturers, product manufacturers (brand owners) and retailers. Within individual firms (micro level) PS is being institutionalised through the interaction of functional groups with different interests, allegiances and stakeholders. At a macro level the institutionalisation of PS as the solution to the perceived 'packaging problem' is linked to the relative power of the industry coalition in policy negotiations and the deregulatory approach to policy making within federal and state governments. Within this environment, companies have sought to maintain or enhance organisational legitimacy by developing policies and practices that institutionalise PS in the way they do business. The responsiveness of companies in different industry sectors is evaluated by examining the PS policies and practices of 30 large companies in the Australian packaging supply chain. The results show that companies are acting to reduce the environmental impacts of packaging, but most are only doing the minimum required to meet public expectations. The research also found a significant gap between the performance of the beverage and packaging manufacturers and retailers. This reflects, at least in part, the fact that beverage and packaging manufacturers have a longer history of exposure to interest group pressure on this issue. Decision-making within individual companies is also driven by corporate policies on environmental and social responsibility, which in turn appear to be linked to industry sector, company size and country of origin. Most companies are focusing on strategies which achieve both environmental and financial savings. This reflects the competitive nature of the industry and the pressure being imposed on companies, by their customers, to reduce supply chain costs. It is also consistent with the voluntary and flexible nature of the NPC, which allows individual companies to choose strategies that support other business objectives. However, while this approach is likely to achieve incremental improvements, it may not meet the expectations of some government agencies and ENGOs for more rapid and substantial reductions in packaging waste. Companies in the packaging supply chain face a continuing challenge to maintain their legitimacy in the face of ongoing stakeholder concerns about their products.

Over the last two decades, sustainability has matured to become a societal imperative and is at the forefront of UK government policy and industry strategy. For example, the Strategy for Sustainable Construction (BERR, 2008) and Low Carbon Construction (BIS, 2012) reports have focused on encouraging more sustainable construction through reductions in energy, water and resource use. In response to such demands, the UK precast concrete industry developed a sector sustainability strategy and subsequently chose to continue activities in this area through an Engineering Doctorate (EngD) research project. The project focused on the scope for applying the principles of product stewardship (PS) as a means to mitigate environmental impacts associated with precast products, throughout the entire life-cycle of their use. Numerous PS schemes have been adopted in other industrial sectors, such as chemicals, electronics and product manufacture. One of the distinguishing features of PS is that multiple stakeholders need to take responsibility for their ‘share' of environmental impacts, and that life-cycle thinking should pervade the value chain. Hence, through PS, the precast industry might be able to address not only the impacts within cradle-to-gate phases, but also develop a framework to positively act on broader, cradle-to-grave impacts. The aim of this research was to develop a framework for embedding the principles of PS more deeply into the precast industry, creating a novel pathway towards more sustainable construction. The research commenced with a literature review to understand the key sustainability issues affecting the industry, followed by an analysis and synthesis of industry key performance indicator (KPI) data from 2006–2012. Industry participation in the research was facilitated through a questionnaire survey and interviews with senior staff within UK precast businesses. Evidence of PS practices was found to exist within the industry through responsible sourcing schemes, implementation of Environmental Management Systems and through the mitigation of various specific impacts. However, the coordinated communication of such initiatives was found to be lacking and with the advent of new European standards around Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for construction, it was decided that the precast industry would benefit from a sector-specific EPD framework to capture and communicate its PS credentials. An EPD framework and tool was therefore developed and validated through a focus group, to establish whether an EPD can be used successfully to deliver environmental information and refine an approach such that it would accord with the principles of PS. Further research and development arising from this research could focus on implementation and evaluation of the industry-specific EPD scheme, a mechanism to communicate and share life-cycle information amongst upstream and downstream stakeholders and a means through which stakeholder responsibility can be attributed and managed effectively. The key findings of this research have been presented in four peer–reviewed papers (one of which is in draft) which are presented in the Appendices.

BackgroundThe biggest issue of our time is the environmental damage we have caused. Publics are becomingincreasingly aware of this challenge: environmental concern has risen. This change toward greenvalues is commonly referred to as “greening of society”. Having generally been considered theenvironmental villains, companies are now also seen as the solution to the environmentalproblem. More and more companies are going green as they have realized the potential of greeninnovations to yield competitive advantages. Therefore, a greening of the business domain canalso be observed. However, only little research has been conducted on why and howenvironmental issues are integrated into the development of new products. Considering thatchemical companies are the epitome of the environmental villains, investigating the case of amanufacturer of branded chemical goods that has been the market leader in the highly contesteddetergent market for more than a century – despite or even because of – pursuing an ecoleadershipstrategy becomes more intriguing.AimThe aim of this study is to investigate the how and part of the why of integrating environmentalissues into product development by analyzing and discussing Henkel’s environmentallycompatible product innovations and their relation to the greening of society.MethodThe method of choice is content analysis. Drawing on secondary data, the research strategy isqualitative and the design is longitudinal while the approach is descriptive and idiographic.ResultsSocietal values and Henkel’s product portfolio seem to move in the same direction as both havebecome greener and greener ever since the 1970s. However, concluding that the portfolio changesas a response to the value change is premature, especially because the innovations are often theresult of decades of research and development. Also, the portfolio has not become greener at anincreasing pace because the corporate goals have changed. Rather, the greening progress has beenaccelerated by technological progress. While over the years Henkel’s innovations have offeredgreen benefits at an increasing proportion, this development is not strongly reflected inadvertisement. Until recently green values have – if at all – only been addressed rather as an aside;the most emphasis has always been on performance. While the latest positioning of innovations astruly green indicates that promotional strategy now acknowledges that preserving the environmenthas become a mainstream value, societal value change has been more strongly reflected inadvertisement in terms of values associated with convenience rather than with the environmentand sustainability.

Yes / The concept of corporate and social responsibility (CSR) has gained increasing momentum and importance in business operations today and companies have globally responded to this philosophy. To what end though? Product Stewardship (PS) and the corporate, social and environmental responsibilities associated within this term are a key part of a business’s CSR agenda. In the extant literature, it is a challenge to clearly identify the boundaries of responsibility for PS - who sets these boundaries for governance and what are the actions taken under the guise of PS. This paper aims to start the process of demystification in responding to the title of this work, stimulate further musings and outline a future research agenda.

Development of stewardship programs for management of end-of-life mattresses (ELM) is a global challenge for governments. Metro Vancouver is the first Canadian regional government to ban mattresses at local landfills. The next step is for manufacturers and retailers to work with local governments in developing stewardship programs that successfully divert and recycle mattresses across British Columbia (BC). This thesis examines how mattress industry stakeholders in BC could effectively implement province wide mattress stewardship policy that will ensure maximum public participation and will be environmentally sound as well as cost effective. Research was conducted by way of a literature review, a case study approach of Metro Vancouver's mattress recycling bylaw and model, and exploratory interviews with BC stewardship program leaders, Sleep Country Canada, government waste management planners, and mattress recyclers.

abstract: Currently, consumers throw away products every day, turning those materials into waste. Electronic waste poses special problems when it is not recycled because it may contain toxic components that can leach into landfill surroundings and reach groundwater sources or contaminate soil, and its plastic, metal, and electronic materials do not biodegrade and are lost rather than recycled. This study analyzes a system that attempts to solve the electronic post-consumer-waste problem by shifting the economic burden of disposal from local municipalities to producers, reducing its environmental impacts while promoting economic development. The system was created in British Columbia, Canada after the province enacted a recycling regulation based on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), a policy strategy that is fast growing globally. The BC recycling regulation requires all e-toy corporations in BC to comply with a government-approved product-stewardship program to recover and dispose of e-toys after they have been discarded by consumers. In response to the regulation, e-toy corporations joined a Canadian non-profit entity that recycles regulated waste. I conducted a case study using in-depth interviews with the stakeholders to identify the outcomes of this program and its potential for replication in other industries. I derived lessons from which corporations can learn to implement stewardship programs based on EPR regulations. The e-toy program demonstrated that creating exclusive programs is neither efficient nor economically feasible. Corporations should expect low recycling rates in the first phases of the program implementation because EPR regulations are long-term strategies. In order to reach any conclusions about the demand of consumers for recycling programs, we need to measure the program's return rates during at least three years. I also derived lessons that apply to the expansion of EPR regulations to a broader scope of product categories. The optimal way to expand EPR policy is to do it by gradually adding new product categories to the regulation on a long-term schedule. By doing so, new categories can take advantage of existing stewardship programs and their infrastructure to recover and recycle the post-consumer products. EPR proved to be an effective option to make corporations start thinking about the end of life of their products. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Sustainability 2014

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Companies are expected to reduce the impact on society caused by its operations while at the same time, generate profit for its stakeholders. One way to satisfy both parts is by creating shared values. As the trend of servitization becomes more popular the ability of Product-Service Systems (PSS) to deliver additional value to customers arises. PSS provides an opportunity for developing a sustainable business model to benefit both the society and the stakeholders. A sustainable PSS can be based on the Triple Bottom Line dimensions, environment, economic, and social. Since the economic and environmental advantages have already been studied for PSS:s, the social aspect is yet to be studied in detail. This thesis focuses on the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) theme of the social dimension, for PSS:s. Both the ability to improve the social dimension performance and the role it plays in the value proposition for PSS:s were studied. The thesis has been based on a case study on one company in a Business to Business market. It was found that customers seldom demanded or mentioned health and safety aspects for PSS:s, even when an increase of OSH was achieved by the PSS. However, it could also be concluded that all interviewed thought OSH was important for the company and the employees but there were divided opinions regarding OSH, if it would be put in the value proposition or not. By analysing the customer situation and how it operates, companies should use the customizability of PSS:s to better match their requirements and thus develop the value proposition for the PSS. Cost estimations for accidents have been done which showed that one single accident can cause very high costs. It is a good investment to prevent risks which should be communicated when selling PSS:s. Furthermore, it is important to communicate both internally within the firm, and externally to customers, about what health and safety benefits the PSS will contribute with. / Företag förväntas att reducera påfrestningarna på samhället och miljön orsakade av deras verksamhet och samtidigt fortsätta generera värde till dess intressenter. Ett sätt att tillgodose båda parter är genom att skapa så kallade delade värden. Då trenden att tjänstefiera blir mer och mer populär finns det möjlighet för ett så kallat Produkt-Service System (PSS) att leverera mervärde till kunderna. PSS ger en möjlighet att utveckla en hållbar affärsmodell som gynnar både samhället och intressenterna. Ett hållbart PSS kan grundas på de tre byggstenarna för Triple Bottom Line, miljö, ekonomi och samhälle. Då de ekonomiska och miljömässiga fördelarna redan har studerats för PSS fokuserar denna studie på hur konceptet står sig för den samhälleliga aspekten. I denna rapport studeras arbetshälsa och säkerhet för PSS, både möjligheten att förbättra den samhälleliga aspekten i Triple Bottom Line samt vilken roll dessa värden spelar för en värdepropositionering för PSS. Rapporten har baserats på en fallstudie på ett företag inom marknaden för Business till Business. Det konstaterades att kunderna sällan efterfrågar eller nämner hälso- och säkerhetsaspekter i förhandlingar om PSS, även när en ökning av arbetshälsa och säkerhet uppnåddes. Hur som helst tyckte alla intervjuade att arbetshälsa och säkerhet var viktigt för företag och anställda men det var trots detta delade meningar om det borde vara en del av värdepropositioneringen eller inte. Genom att analysera kundernas situation och hur de arbetar borde företag använda anpassningsbarheten av PSS för att bättre matcha kundernas önskemål och således utveckla värdepropositioneringen för PSS. Kostnadsberäkningar för olyckor har genomförts som visar att en enskild olycka kan orsaka mycket höga kostnader. Det är en god investering att förebygga risker vilket borde kommuniceras vid försäljning av PSS:s. Det är viktigt att både kommunicera internt inom företaget samt externt till kunderna om de hälso- och säkerhetsaspekter som PSS bidrar med.

Thesis (MPhil (Sustainable Development Planning and Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / The objective of this study is to test out the possibility of a synthesis between sustainable development, more specifically corporate citizenship, and customer value, a major focus of business strategy, which if correctly achieved nurtures customer loyalty. This synthesis as defined in this thesis is product stewardship. Product stewardship is the design and promotion of products and services that aim to positively impact the environment and society through the creation, consumption and disposal of such a product or service. In an increasingly competitive global environment, crafting business strategy that successfully nurtures customer loyalty is a vital component of long term business success. The delivery of products and services that customers trust and that fully satisfy customer expectations is a prerequisite for loyalty. Intense competition however squeezes profit margins and floods the market with homogeneous products and services. Competition now becomes price centred which drives both a decrease in product quality and a quest for operational efficiencies in an attempt to reduce overheads. Further, capturing a share of the consumer’s wallet becomes more difficult for corporations, forcing a heavy reliance on the brand and company image. In such circumstances, the delivery of customer value that fully satisfies expectations is hard to achieve and business strategy, concerned primarily with the delivery of exceptional customer value, becomes a major focus for most corporations. However, as all corporations strive for a similar end goal, competitive differentiation becomes harder to achieve. Simultaneously, in the context of greater environmental and social consciousness, including the progression of sustainability science, corporations have the added challenge or obligation to adopt these emerging themes. Scrabbling with these new ideas, few corporations are having a real profound effect in curbing the pending ecosystem crisis. Corporate social responsibility, corporate social investment and corporate citizenship have tended to focus on the company and how it is perceived; a kind of self-centredness that explodes into the gross exaggerations communicated by the brand. Product stewardship, as defined in this thesis, shifts the focus away from THE COMPANY and its BRAND, to the product being designed, produced, communicated, consumed and then wasted. The values of a better world articulated by sustainable development and the aspiration to find a better business strategy are fused into a focus on the product. The company and its brand, therefore is constructed not by a promotion of itself as ‘good’ but rather by the virtues and benefits of the product communicated relationally which, in turn, indirectly builds the reputation of the producer. Loyalty therefore is no longer loyalty to the brand, but to an experience of the product. A number of corporations, both local and international, in South Africa are displaying behaviour characteristic of a product stewardship approach. These behaviours or claims are recorded in case studies on four such corporations, namely; Toyota, Sasol, Woolworths, and the South African Breweries Limited. Each case demonstrates how the application of product stewardship can and does reduce negative impacts on both the environment and society while simultaneously nurturing exceptional customer loyalty. A number of critical questions about the design and promotion of short term domestic insurance products are raised to demonstrate how the application of a product stewardship approach could unlock the potential to nurture superior customer loyalty for corporations in the South African short term domestic insurance industry, a service industry plagued by a declining industry image, low customer loyalty and intense competition. The application of a product stewardship approach to a service orientated industry is significant as services are seldom analysed for their effects on the environment and society, as promoted by sustainable development theory. Instead, in an attempt to display the values of a better world, service industries expend huge resources engaging in activities peripheral to their core businesses, while adjustments as highlighted by a product stewardship approach, to their core offerings, their services, could deliver meaningful change for the environment, society, the corporation and ultimately the customer. Based on the real possibility of a synthesis between sustainable development and customer value as highlighted in this thesis, a further more in-depth study is proposed to determine the direct business effects, quantified, of improved customer loyalty nurtured through the application of product stewardship.

This thesis draws on the concept of product stewardship and its focus on incorporating all of the actors in a product’s lifecycle into steps to take responsibility for waste management. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) recognizes the producer’s distinct potential to consider and drive change in waste management. Producers often serve like mediators between the design and use phases of a product’s lifecycle. Through EPR policies, the producer takes on the costs of ensuring safe end-of-life waste disposal. In this way, EPR can be expected to help relieve the public of some of the costs of waste disposal, and to support consideration of social and environmental impacts that a product may incur. This thesis examines EPR policy adoption and effectiveness in order to understand its ability to meet its theoretical expectations. Exploring the consideration and implementation of EPR policy measures, and particularly a case study of these policies in California, this thesis identifies several emerging challenges and trends that define openness to, and the success of, EPR. EPR policy proposals often encounter resistance that limits their strength and reach. In order to realize the full potential benefits of EPR, regulatory bodies will need to wholeheartedly support competition and enforcement to preserve the incentives within these policies. This thesis suggests that EPR still holds strong potential to bring together the social, environmental, and economic costs of waste management, both in theory and in practice, and offers broad recommendations for efforts to support this alignment.