Integrated Product Policy: Strategy to reduce environmental impact of industrial products, June 2003

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Series Details 23.6.03
Publication Date 23/06/2003
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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:

'IPP represents a new and very promising approach to environmental protection. IPP will look at all stages of a product's life cycle from cradle to grave and seek to reduce the overall environmental damage it causes at the different stages. . The gains that can be made by making just small changes are huge'.

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':

  • managing wastes
  • stimulating the design of more environmentally-sound products;
  • creating markets for environmentally-sound products
  • improving (environmental) information flow up and down the product chain
  • allocating responsibility

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 IPP plans of the Commission risk to adopt a "business as usual" policy. The EEB asks for more commitment and political steer by setting ambitious targets, getting the prices right, better legislation and a strong enforcement'.

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:

  • Life-cycle thinking, which means that when pollution-reduction measures are identified, consideration is given to the whole of a product's life-cycle, from cradle to grave. According to the European Commission, this approach reduces the overall environmental impact because it avoids just shunting the environmental impacts from one phase of the life-cycle to another.
  • Flexibility as to the type of policy measure to be used, working with the market where possible.
  • Full stakeholder involvement from all those involved in the product's life cycle be they designers, industry, marketing people, retailers and consumers.

In terms of implementation, the Communication sets out a two-pronged approach:

  • Improving the tools that already exist to make them more product-focused. These tools, known as the IPP toolbox, can be used on many different products. They include:
    • environmental management systems (such as the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme EMAS)
    • environmental labelling
    • the provision of life-cycle information
  • Taking action to improve the environmental performance of products that have the greatest potential for environmental improvement.

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:

Year Action
2003 Identification and launching of pilot projects on particular products on the basis of stakeholder suggestion as received by the European Commission before the end of October 2003
2004 Guidelines on how to deal with product considerations within EMAS and decision on whether to obtain EMAS II Registration
Greener public procurement website.
Conclusion of pilot projects exercise.
2005 Publication of a practical handbook on best practice with Life Cycle Assessment, LCA.
GDiscussion paper on the need for product design obligations on producers
2006 Development of a European Commission action programme for greening its public procurement.
2007 Identification of a first set or products with the greatest potential for environmental improvement and the beginning of action to tackle them.

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:

'It lacks its most vital component: a legislative platform on which to make effective use of these actions and any results thereof and to lay down a common vision on what concrete environmental objectives are trying to be achieved, and by when'.

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:

  • Prelex [Select COM series, enter year and document number]
  • OEIL [Select COM document, enter year and number]

Further information within European Sources Online:

European Sources Online: Topic Guides
The Environmental Policy of the European Union
European Sources Online: European Voice
29.06.00: Wallström forced to delay integrated product plan
06.09.01: Wallström 'green' goods plan under US attack
30.01.03: EU looks to wrap up the future of waste
30.01.03: Laws are boxing us in, says European chief
30.01.03: Round and round we go: but decisions must be made on recycling
22.05.03: Day plays down IPP 'life-cycle' checks

Further information can be seen in these external links:
(long-term access cannot be guaranteed)

EU Institutions

European Commission:
 
DG Press and Communication:
  Press Releases:
  08.02.01: Commission adopts Green Paper on Integrated Product Policy [IP/01/180]
  18.06.03: Integrated Product Policy; Commission outlines its strategy to stimulate greener products [IP/03/858]
  Speeches:
  25.10.02: EU Environment and Industry policy in the context of sustainable development [SPEECH/02/521]
  Memos:
  18.06.03: Questions and Answers on Integrated Product Policy [MEMO/03/136]
 
DG Environment:
  Homepage
  Integrated Product Policy
  What is Integrated Product Policy?
  How has the Commission developed IPP so far?
  Communication on Integrated Product Policy: Building on Environmental Life-Cycle Thinking
Scadplus:
Green Paper on Integrated Product Policy
 
Council of the European Union:
Homepage
Environment Council, Brussels, 8 March 2001 [PRES/01/93]
 
European Parliament:
Homepage
European Parliament Resolution on the Commission Green Paper on integrated product policy
 
Committee of the Regions:
Homepage
Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the 'Green Paper on Integrated Product Policy'
 
Economic and Social Committee:
Homepage
Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the 'Green Paper on Integrated Product Policy'
 
International Organisations:
 
International Institute for Sustainable Development:
Homepage
Integrated Product Policy
 
United Nations Environment Programme:
Homepage
Sustainable consumption: Life cycle management
 
National Organisations
 
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency:
Homepage
An integrated product policy
 
Business Organisations
 
European Committee of Domestic Equipment Manufacturers:
Homepage
Integrated Product Policy: Statements
 
Orgalime:
Homepage
Contribution to the stakeholder consultation on the Green Paper on IPP [July 2001]
 
Eurocommerce:
Homepage
Comments on EU Green Paper on Integrated Product Policy
 
EU Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce:
Homepage
Position Paper on Integrated Product Policy [June 2001]
 
European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized enterprises [UEAPME]:
Homepage
UEAPME's opinion on the Green Paper on Integrated Product Policy
 
UNICE:
Homepage
UNICE opinion on integrated product policy [December 1998]
Letter to COREPER concerning UNICE's views on integrated product policy [March 1999]
UNICE's contribution to the Green Paper on Integrated Product Policy [July 2000]
UNICE's contribution to the ongoing stakeholder consultation on the Green Paper [April 2001]
UNICE's second contribution to the Commission's stakeholder consultations [July 2001]
 
Miscellaneous Organisations
 
EnviroWindows [Environmental Information for Businesses and Local Authorities]:
Homepage
Integrated Product Policy
 
European Environmental Bureau:
Homepage
Press Releases:
  02.05.01: Green Paper on Integrated Product Policy not innovative enough
  03.04.03: Environmental management systems inadequate tools in environmental product policy
  18.06.03: Commission fails to deliver 'policy driver' on IPP
Position Papers:
  EEB Response to the Commission's Green Paper on Integrated Product Policy [April 2001]
 
Environmental Center:
Homepage
Eco-innovation: Helped or hindered by integrated product policy [2001]

Helen Bower

23 June 2003

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