[p2tech] Products and Packaging = 44% of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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Products and Packaging Contribute 44 Percent of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Product policy change can combat global warming, groups say

Posted at 
<http://www.productpolicy.org/simplenews/statistics/click?nid=252&mail=gary@garyliss.com&url=http:/%2Fwww.productpolicy.org/content/climate-change-epr>http://www.productpolicy.org/content/climate-change-epr 


The garbage filling our trashcans is also 
changing our global climate, according to 
complimentary reports released today by the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Product Policy Institute (PPI).

Two New Reports
    * The EPA Report reveals that 37 percent of 
United States total greenhouse gas emissions 
result from the provision and use of goods 
produced within the U.S.  “Goods” includes all 
consumer products and packaging, including 
building components and passenger 
vehicles.  “Provision and use” includes all 
activities from resource extraction, 
manufacturing, and transport to use and 
disposal.  These emissions have a dangerous impact on the Earth’s climate.
    * A supplemental white paper, released by PPI 
and written by the lead technical author of the 
EPA report, tells an even more surprising 
story.  When emissions of products made abroad 
and consumed here are included, and exports are 
subtracted, products and packaging account for 44 
percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas 
emissions.   The PPI report adds the full global 
impact to the data published in the EPA report.
“Climate action has largely focused on 
transportation, heating and cooling, and food. 
Now we know that reducing waste offers the 
largest opportunity to combat global warming," 
said Bill Sheehan, PPI executive director.

Joshuah Stolaroff, author of the white paper and 
technical lead on the EPA report, emphasized the 
importance of improving product design to address 
climate change.  “Because product design 
influences all stages of the product life cycle, 
improving product design has the most potential 
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated 
with products,” said Stolaroff in the PPI report. 
He was the AAAS Science and Technology Policy 
Fellow at U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response.

Product Policy Response

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), or 
Product Stewardship, policies make brand-owners 
take financial ownership of their products, from 
creation to disposal. EPR reduces waste – and in 
so doing, reduces greenhouse gas emissions -- by 
giving producers a financial incentive to design 
products that close the loop by being easy to 
repair, reuse, and recycle, according to 
PPI.  EPR policies require brand owners to pay 
for the reuse and recycling of their products.

EPR is a well-established policy in Canada, 
Europe, Japan, and South Korea.  In this country, 
18 states and New York City have passed EPR laws 
requiring brand-owners to pay for collecting, 
processing, reusing and recycling discarded 
electronic products sold in these 
jurisdictions.  Environmental organizations are 
also promoting EPR.  In 2008, the Sierra Club 
adopted a Zero Waste policy featuring EPR and 
recently created a Zero Waste Team whose top 
responsibility is advancing EPR policies.

The EPR policy approach addresses one of the key 
findings of the EPA report, “Opportunities to 
Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Materials 
and Land Management Practice.” The report states 
that impacts during the production phase – 
activities from materials extraction to 
manufacturing -- are responsible for by far the 
largest portion of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from products and packaging.

“These reports prove that implementing product 
stewardship programs in the U.S. will result in 
the greatest reduction of our carbon footprint,” 
said Heidi Sanborn, executive director of the 
California Product Stewardship Council, an 
organization of local governments working for EPR 
policy in California.  “The reports show that EPR 
should be included in every climate action plan.”

Reports
    * EPA Report, Opportunities to Reduce 
Greenhouse Gas Through Land and Materials 
Management: 
<http://www.productpolicy.org/simplenews/statistics/click?nid=252&mail=gary@garyliss.com&url=http:/%2Fwww.epa.gov/oswer/docs/ghg_land_and_materials_management.pdf>http://www.epa.gov/oswer/docs/ghg_land_and_materials_management.pdf 

    * PPI White Paper, Products, Packaging and US 
Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 
<http://www.productpolicy.org/simplenews/statistics/click?nid=252&mail=gary@garyliss.com&url=http:/%2Fwww.productpolicy.org/content/climate-change-epr>http://www.productpolicy.org/content/climate-change-epr 

Contacts
    * Bill Sheehan, PPI executive director: 
706-613-0710 
<http://www.productpolicy.org/simplenews/statistics/click?nid=252&mail=gary@garyliss.com&url=mailto:bill@productpolicy.org>bill at productpolicy.org 

    * Joshuah Stolaroff, AAAS Science and 
Technology Policy Fellow at U.S. EPA Office of 
Solid Waste and Emergency 
Response:  412-527-9849 
<http://www.productpolicy.org/simplenews/statistics/click?nid=252&mail=gary@garyliss.com&url=mailto:josh@rationalcontemporary.com>josh at rationalcontemporary.com 

    * Heidi Sanborn, California Product 
Stewardship Council executive director: 
916-402-3911 
<http://www.productpolicy.org/simplenews/statistics/click?nid=252&mail=gary@garyliss.com&url=mailto:heidi@CalPSC.org>heidi at CalPSC.org 

About Product Policy Institute:
Product Policy Institute is a North American 
non-partisan, non-profit research, communication, 
and educational organization. It promotes 
policies that advance sustainable production, 
consumption, and good governance. Founded in 
2003, PPI works with communities and their local 
governments to advocate for public policies that 
protect public health and safety and address 
climate change by encouraging waste prevention 
and clean production.  PPI has helped local 
governments establish Product Stewardship 
Councils in California, New York, Vermont, and 
Texas, and is currently working in other states.
For more information, visit 
<http://www.productpolicy.org/simplenews/statistics/click?nid=252&mail=gary@garyliss.com&url=http:/%2Fwww.productpolicy.org/>www.productpolicy.org 
.   P.O. Box 48433, Athens, GA  30604  *  Tel: 
706-613-0710  * 
<http://www.productpolicy.org/simplenews/statistics/click?nid=252&mail=gary@garyliss.com&url=mailto:info@productpolicy.org>info at productpolicy.org


Gary Liss
916-652-7850
Fax: 916-652-0485
www.garyliss.com 
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