| Author (Person) | Bower, Helen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Title | In Focus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Details | 23.6.03 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication Date | 23/06/2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As part of the EU's efforts to achieve sustainable development, environmental policymakers across Europe have, in recent years, begun to examine the effects of products on the environment during their entire life-cycle. With more than 380 million European consumers, the impact of products on the EU's environment is vast. In the hope of significantly reducing the environmental damage caused by products in the future, the European Commission adopted a Communication on 18 June 2003 [IP/03/858] outlining a proposed Integrated Product Policy. Often referred to by its acronym IPP, such a policy would seek to reduce the negative environmental effects of products by encouraging consumers to buy more eco-friendly products whilst also improving the environmental performance of products that currently cause significant environmental damage. In the words of Environment Commissioner, Margot Wallström:
Background The concept of developing a specific environmental policy concentrating on the impact of products over their entire life-cycle did not originate in the corridors of the EU institutions. Over the last decade policymakers around the world have sought to develop an approach intended to reduce the potential harmful environmental effects of products after recognising that traditional environmental policy focuses too much on 'middle-of-pipe' (waste minimisation and cleaner production) and end-of-pipe (pollution) problems. Since the early 1990s a number of Nordic countries, the Netherlands and Switzerland have all introduced forms of integrated product policy into their broader national environmental policy. In this context, a report was published by the European Commission in March 1998, which examined the issue of IPP on the basis of a two year study. The report identified five 'building blocks':
Following on from this study and a debate on IPP hosted by the European Commission's DG Environment in December 1998, EU environment ministers discussed the issue at an informal meeting of the environment council in Weimar in May 1999. Ministers called on the European Commission to consider the potential of IPP in its Sixth Environmental Action Programme but with the emphasis on integrating the instruments already in place rather than proposing new regulatory measures. The European Commission's response was presented in the form of a Green Paper on Integrated Product Policy [COM (2001) 68], which was published in February 2001. The Commission's approach emphasised stimulating consumer demand for greener products whilst simultaneously encouraging industry to reduce the overall environmental impact of a product during its life-cycle. The importance of pricing the products to meet market demands was also acknowledged. With the intention of stimulating a debate on the issue, the European Commission organised a number of consultation events with other EU institutions and stakeholders during the first half of 2001 and accepted written comments on the Green Paper until the end of June 2001. In general, European industry welcomed the concept of an Integrated Product policy but expressed reservations about specific aspects of the European Commission's proposal. In particular, the Union of Industry and Employers' Confederations of Europe [UNICE] voiced concerns about the introduction of instruments such as differentiated taxation or environmental taxes and charges, and their practical implications and consequences for European industry and called for environmental labelling to be voluntary stating that under no circumstances should it be made quasi-obligatory by establishing links to public procurement legislation or differentiated taxation. Representing the views of environmental stakeholders, the European Environmental Bureau, criticised the Green Paper for not being innovative enough, claiming that it failed to address the key challenges of ecological product policy. Outlining five major shortcomings of the Commission's proposals in its response to the Green Paper, the EEB stated:
The critical response of the EEB was mirrored by the European Parliament, which adopted a resolution in January 2002 on the basis of a report drawn up by Cristina Garcia-Orcoyen Tormo MEP (of the European People's Party). The report was highly critical of the European Commission's proposal, calling for a more exhaustive and cohesive policy with clear objectives, timetables and indicators for monitoring achievement. Communication on Integrated Product Policy On the basis of the responses to the Green Paper, the European Commission adopted its long-awaited Communication on Integrated Product Policy on 18 June 2003 [IP/03/858]. The proposal foresees voluntary action on the part of industry as opposed to regulatory measures, reflecting the strong business opposition to mandatory targets, which was expressed during consultations on the Green Paper. The European Commission's approach to Integrated Product Policy relies on three key factors:
In terms of implementation, the Communication sets out a two-pronged approach:
On the basis of this dual approach the European Commission has set out a number of specific actions for the period 2003-2007, as follows:
Initially, the European Commission's IPP will focus on all products, including the food and drink industry, with the possibility of exporting the approach to services in the future, since these also often have significant environmental impacts that need to be tackled. In order to be successful, the European Commission recognises that IPP will need to form an integral part of other environmental initiatives. As such, upcoming proposals from the European Commission , for example, the draft proposal for a Framework Directive on the Eco-design of Energy-Using Products (the responsibility of the Directorates-General Energy and Transport and Enterprise) and the Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Resources will both take into account the principles of IPP. The success of IPP will also largely depend on the response from stakeholders as much of the action proposed is voluntary in nature. This style of approach has been welcomed by businesses who feared that stricter measures, in addition to other policies such as the Environmental Liability Directive, would present them with increased costs, which in turn could harm their competitiveness. However, the European Commission argues that the development of greener products could open up new markets which will, in the long-term, increase the competitiveness of European industry. But at what cost to the environment? The European Environmental Bureau has criticised the European Commission for bowing to the demands of European industry with its Communication on IPP rather than adopting a tough approach to protect the environment. In a press statement, issued on 18 June 2003, EEB said of the Communication:
Environmental organisations will now be hoping that the European Parliament calls for a stricter policy when the Communication is transmitted to the Council and to the European Parliament for discussion. The progress of the proposal through the decision-making process can be traced used the following services:
Further information within European Sources Online:
Further information can be seen in these external links: EU Institutions
Helen Bower 23 June 2003 Background and reporting on the week's main stories in the European Union and the wider Europe. |
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| Subject Categories | Environment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
