White Papers

This whitepaper outlines why regulated product stewardship has strong economic advantages over voluntary approaches and allocating government funding, which is becoming increasingly difficult in the current budgetary environment.

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This White Paper presents discussion on the waste management hierarchy and its relationship to sustainability.

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This White Paper presents insights and learnings from a high-level review of packaging stewardship scheme characteristics in Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand.

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This white paper outlines some of the key challenges associated with chemicals of concern and product stewardship and considers a few of the strategies being employed by government and industry to address them.

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The purpose of this whitepaper is to identify strategies for addressing freeriders and consider applicability for the Australian context. Free‑riders are businesses or organisations that may benefit from a product stewardship activity without contributing to its implementation or operation.

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This white paper presents insights from a survey conducted by the Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence to gain a better understanding of the needs of the many organisations involved in product stewardship in Australia. We are grateful to have received valuable insights and ideas from existing and emerging schemes, individual businesses, governments, industry and community organisations.

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10 years of consumer insights into mobile use and recycling: 2005‑2015.

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Practice Notes

This practice note discusses the status of data and reporting practices and highlights specific opportunities to improve the consistency and quality of data, reporting and disclosure. It provides a user-friendly template defining ‘core data requirements’ for product stewardship schemes. The template is intended to support an uplift in the quality of data collected and reported; and, encourage greater transparency with consistent annual disclosure of environmental, social and governance performance data.

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A circular economy presents a system-wide solution that encourages a rethink of the way we design, manufacture, use and manage products and materials, across the entire lifecycle, including at the end of life. Reducing resource use, increasing resource efficiency, eliminating unsafe chemicals, and enabling circular material flows are at the core of a circular economy. A fair and equitable circular economy will also address inequalities, assuming higher responsibility for high-income countries that consume more resources.

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Strategic Design provides the perspectives and tools needed to drive a shift in product design practice out of the mindset of a linear economy and towards a whole-of-life, stewardship approach. Strategic Design tools help position the design activity within a broader systems context, connecting design decisions made within the organisation with the impacts felt in society and the natural environment.

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This practice note provides a list of key questions and considerations to assist in the development of pilot projects. They are grouped under three areas of consideration – Planning & design, Implementation and Evaluation.

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This short guide aims to provide guidance on the process for SMEs to respond to government tenders and promote the product stewardship aspects of their goods or services.

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All levels of government and other large entities hold significant market power, and their procurement practices can shape markets to help deliver improved environmental outcomes. Large entities that understand and acknowledge this power can use it to create positive market impacts in line with broader goals, including management of the waste challenge, circular economy transition, product stewardship activity, environmental sustainability as well as meeting the expectations of consumers and the community more broadly.

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Product stewardship schemes involve reducing the environmental and human health impacts of products across their entire life cycle, providing a pathway to establishing a circular economy that designs out waste and pollution, keeps products and materials circulating in the economy and regenerates and restores natural capital.

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In this practice note, we provide an overview of Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) authorisation and its relevance to product stewardship schemes. Authorisation can be an important tool in the development and implementation of industry-led, product stewardship schemes.

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Leasing is a common business practice whereby consumers acquire the use of an asset from a lessor for a period of time in exchange for a regular lease payment. However, the contribution of leasing to an overall product stewardship strategy is often overlooked. Drawing on examples from different sectors, in this practice note, we explore the economic potential of leasing as a product stewardship strategy.

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Submissions

This submission provides overarching feedback on why product stewardship can directly bolster Western Australia’s Waste Strategy 2025-2030 and provides specific comments on where effort and improvements might be had, specifically in relation to the policy and practice of product stewardship and producer responsibility across the complete product lifecycle.

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Submission to the NSW EPA.

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This submission seeks to outline the essential principles of effective and responsible product stewardship and provides an assessment of the SPSA authorisation / exemption application against the five characteristics of effective product stewardship schemes.

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This submission to the South Australian Government comments on its Draft Waste Strategy 2025-2030. The strategy is a comprehensive effort that is to be commended and builds upon previous SA waste and circular economy strategies.

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The Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence's recommended changes to the draft Queensland Waste Strategy 2025-2030.

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The Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence’s submission in response to the Productivity Commission’s Inquiry into the Circular Economy outlines how regulated producer responsibility across the product and material lifecycle is the most effective way to deliver the Australian Government’s circular economy ambitions and policies.

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The Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence's submission in response to the discussion paper for the National End-of-Life Tyres Options Project. This submission is in addition to the preliminary comments provided through the online survey.

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Transcript.

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Submission to Senate.

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Submission to Treasury.

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Submission to CEMAG.

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Webinars

In this session, we focus on the important role that Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) plays in enhancing product stewardship initiatives. Our presenters will guide you through the essential principles and applications of LCA, showing how it can be utilised at both the individual business level and within collective schemes.

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Photovoltaic systems were first placed on the Federal Environment Minister’s Priority List in 2016-17. In 2023-24 PVs were removed it from the list as government is now progressing regulation due to insufficient progress by industry to better manage the environmental impacts of these products since they were first listed.

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This webinar covers the developments in product sustainability regulation from Europe and product certification in Australia. This session focuses on the new Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) being introduced in Europe, its implications for producers, brands, and product stewardship globally and how do current Australian third party product certifications align.

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A webinar on Packaging stewardship – global and local lessons. Globally, action to date to address the environmental and human health impacts of packaging has largely focused on managing waste at the end-of-life.

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For a snapshot of some initiatives underway in Australia, this webinar samples services and programs that describe the achievements, the challenges, and the learnings.

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An informative webinar on the importance of traceability in improving transparency, accountability, and credibility across product supply chains from design and production to consumption and post-consumption. Our presenters discussed the principles of traceability, its applicability to recycled content, data standards, technologies, and its current use in product stewardship schemes and initiatives.

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As a preventative and practical waste avoidance measure, how can repairability and durability reflect a strong and comprehensive approach to product stewardship and lifecycle thinking? The national appetite for products that are repairable is growing and consistently reflected in market research investigating consumer expectations and preferences.

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This webinar will assist you in better understanding what you can do to validate environmental claims and avoid greenwashing.

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Australia’s landmark study of the benefits and effectiveness of product stewardship recently released a series of reports to further understanding of how product stewardship can deliver environmental, social and economic benefits and provide businesses and government with a pathway to transition to a circular economy.

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This webinar was the first in a series on the benefits and effectiveness of product stewardship, identified in the UTS report. Australia’s landmark study of the benefits and effectiveness of product stewardship recently released a series of reports to further understanding of how product stewardship can deliver environmental, social and economic benefits and provide businesses and government with a pathway to transition to a circular economy.

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Australia’s landmark study of the benefits and effectiveness of product stewardship recently released a series of reports to further understanding of how product stewardship can deliver environmental, social and economic benefits and provide businesses and government with a pathway to transition to a circular economy. These reports include important and timely evidence base for governments, businesses and the community on the importance of product stewardship being a major business-focused approach to design out waste and pollution, keep products and materials circulating in the economy, regenerate natural systems and decarbonise the economy. This webinar, the second of a three-part series, examines business and consumer awareness and engagement in product stewardship.

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The Centre’s webinar on Friday 2 December 2022, explored what product stewardship regulation looks like in Australia, including how it is established at a national and state or territory level, and what the pros and cons are of going down a regulated pathway. To help understand how product stewardship regulations work in Australia, Tabor Ackman, from the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, and Alex Young, from the NSW EPA, joined us to explore this topic. Both Tabor and Alex are experienced regulators involved in developing and managing regulated product stewardship schemes.

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Our guest speakers were:

  • Ricardo Pinto – Sustainable Packaging and Circular Economy Solutions, Australia Post
  • Chris Tangey – General Manager, Ecycle Solutions Pty Ltd 
  • Helen Jarman – CEO, The Activ Group
  • Peter Tamblyn – Consultant to Close the Loop, Close the Loop Ltd  
  • Sarah Newman – National Business Development Manager, Remondis

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Our guest speakers were:

  • Kapil Kulkarni – Director and NSW Economics Lead, RPS Group
  • Warren Overton – CEO, ANZRP

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Our guest speakers were:

  • Dominique Doyle – General Manager – Agsafe
  • Rebecca Brown – Manager Waste and Recycling – Western Australian Local Government Association

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Governance structures ensures the right people are the ones making the important and right decisions. Governance is not just for companies; product stewardship schemes like any organisation no matter how it is structured require good governance to give its members and the community confidence that their interests are being addressed. Shared responsibilities that work and account towards shifting the cost burden and environmental impacts of products away from the community can only deliver better environmental outcomes. It doesn’t need to be a minefield; so, what are the different governance structures that can be applied and how do they work with a number of product stewardship schemes?

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  • What are Competition Exemptions and ‘Authorisation’
  • When Authorisation might be required
  • What the ACCC need to see to grant Authorisation – the Authorisation test
  • An example: the Battery Stewardship scheme
  • Steps in the Authorisation process

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Government Accreditation Objective

  • Introducing the Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence
  • The role and value of Product Stewardship in Australia
  • Looking ahead in 2021: what’s happening with the Centre of Excellence
  • Q&A – on Product Stewardship and the Centre
  • Webinar close and next steps

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The Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence is an independent, not for profit charity, that seeks to reduce waste generation and create positive environmental and social outcomes through sustainable design, resource conservation, reuse, repair, and recycling. The Centre helps businesses, industries, and product stewardship organisations to adopt a strong lifecycle approach to deliver their ESG and circular economy objectives. We also provide independent advice on product stewardship priorities to the Australian government.

Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence Limited  |  PO Box 7052  |   Berrima NSW 2577

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