New Publication Sheds Light on Extended Producer Responsibility Policy

The ISTP is delighted to announce the publication of a paper authored by Jakob Pruess, a PhD Candidate at the ISTP and a member of the SWISSCHAINS, the Swiss Sustainable Supply Chain Lab. The paper, entitled "external page Unraveling the complexity of extended producer responsibility policy mix design, implementation, and transfer dynamics in the European Union," delves into the intricate landscape of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies within the European Union (EU).

EPR is a policy principle that holds producers accountable for the entire lifecycle of their products, including their post-consumer stage. It is among the key policy levers to foster the transition toward a Circular Economy. Jakob Pruess' research sheds light on the diversity and complexity of EPR policies across 25 EU member states.

First cluster mapping of EPR systems for plastic packaging

Cluster analysis yields insights into similarities and differences between EU countries that advance existing EPR country groupings through a high level of detail. For example, while EPR system scope aligns at the EU level, specific instrument types are becoming more varied. Cluster variations allow policymakers to position countries within a detailed landscape of EPR design, helping to track progress, suggest policy adjustments, or target funds. Ultimately, the clusterings are foundational for further causal analysis of the environmental and economic performance of EPR.

EPR design feature combinations can be path-​dependent

Some patterns are consistent across various levels of EPR design. That is, some design feature choices appear to strongly influence others in hierarchical dependencies. For example, the decision whether Producer Responsibility Organizations (PRO) are centralized, non-​profit or competitive, for-​profit entities strongly influence whether producers assume just financial or also operational responsibility of waste management services.