The document discusses the importance of product stewardship in managing environmental, health, and safety aspects throughout a product's lifecycle, particularly in the electronics recycling industry. It emphasizes the frameworks and certification processes required for compliance, alongside internal and external stewardship programs aimed at reducing environmental impacts and promoting sustainable practices. Additionally, it highlights the economic, environmental, and financial benefits of effective product stewardship for both companies and society.

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