The Changing Face of Environmental Legislation: New Policy Directions in the European Union Jeff Vickers (Presenter) Dr Carol Boyle International Centre for Sustainability Engineering and Research University of Auckland

Acknowledgements  This study is part of a Ph.D. project funded by the Foundation for Research, Science & Technology (FRST) and Actronic Ltd

Overview  Brief history of environmental policy in the EU (focusing on product policy)  Case study: the electronics industry  Drivers for new policy initiatives  Trends for the future  Relevance for business and NZ  Conclusions

EU Environmental Policy  Environment a key issue since the 1st Environmental Action Programme in 1973  Sustainable development became a fundamental goal of the EU in 1997 when it was included in the Treaty of Amsterdam Environmental Protection Environmental Integration Sustainable Development

EU Product Policy  1990s and early 2000s: Ÿ Extended product responsibility (EPR), aka the “polluter pays” principle Ÿ Restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS)  : Trend toward framework legislation and introduction of “life cycle thinking”

EU Product Policy (’94-’06) 1994

EU Product Policy (’94-’06) 1994 Directive on Packaging & Packaging Waste Type: EPR + RoHS Need: Running out of landfill space

EU Product Policy (’94-’06) 1994 Packaging Directive on End of Life Vehicles (ELV) Type: EPR + RoHS Need: High volume of wasted resources 2000

EU Product Policy (’94-’06) Packaging Vehicles Directive on Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Type: EPR Need: E-waste is rapidly growing waste stream 2000

EU Product Policy (’94-’06) Packaging Vehicles Directive on Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Type: RoHS Need: E-waste is high- volume and can be toxic 2000

EU Product Policy (’94-’06) Packaging Vehicles Directive on Eco-design of Energy- using Products (EuP) Type: eco-design / life cycle thinking Need: EuPs can have a high environ. impact over their life cycle 2000

EU Product Policy (’94-’06) Packaging Vehicles Directive on Batteries & Accumulators Type: EPR + RoHS Need: Toxic substances in many batteries 2000

EU Product Policy (’94-’06) Packaging VehiclesElectronics Regulation on Registration, Evaluation & Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) Type: Chemical regulation Note: REACH will impact many areas of product policy 2000

EU Product Policy (’94-’06) Future? Packaging VehiclesElectronicsChem.

Case Study: Electronics Industry  The EU is one of the world’s largest markets so its actions have a global impact  E.g. RoHS Directive of 2002: Ÿ Came into force 1 st July, 2006 Ÿ Restricted 6 substances, most notably lead (Pb) Ÿ Sparked change around the world Ÿ Now difficult to get leaded components Ÿ Legislation adopted in other regions (e.g. China, California (USA) and Korea)

Case Study: Electronics Industry Raw material extraction Manufacture Packaging & distribution Use & maintenance End of life Design RoHS Directive (remove hazardous substances) WEEE Directive (design for reuse/recycling/etc) EuP Directive (eco-design) E.g. Mining Waste Directive Traditional legislation for managing pollution IPPC Directive (pollution prevention & control) REACH Regulation (chemicals) Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive EuP Directive (eco-design) WEEE Directive (take-back & reuse/recycling) Batteries and Accumulators Directive Landfill Directive Incineration Directive Landfill/incineration ReuseRecycle

Initiatives Driving New Policy  6 th Environmental Action Programme (6 th EAP) which runs from 2002 to 2012  2001 Sustainable Development Strategy and now the Renewed EU Sustainable Development Strategy (the “2006 SDS”)  Integrated Product Policy (IPP)

Initiatives Driving New Policy  6 th Environmental Action Programme (6 th EAP) which runs from 2002 to 2012  2001 Sustainable Development Strategy and now the Renewed EU Sustainable Development Strategy (the “2006 SDS”)  Integrated Product Policy (IPP)

The 6 th EAP  One of the most influential initiatives  Entitled: “Environment 2010: Our Future, Our Choice”  Developed seven thematic strategies for priority areas (5 to 25 year time horizons)  The thematic strategy on the sustainable use of resources is of particular interest

Thematic strategy on the sustainable use of resources  “[If] the world as a whole followed traditional patterns of consumption, it is estimated that global resource use would quadruple within 20 years” (2005)  Obviously this is not sustainable  To counter this, the EU plans to decouple resource use and environmental degradation from economic growth (dematerialisation)

Thematic strategy on the sustainable use of resources Source: EC COM(2005) 670 final

Initiatives Driving New Policy  6 th Environmental Action Programme (6 th EAP) which runs from 2002 to 2012  2001 Sustainable Development Strategy and now the Renewed EU Sustainable Development Strategy (the “2006 SDS”)  Integrated Product Policy (IPP)

The 2006 SDS  Recognises two major challenges: Ÿ unsustainable production and consumption Ÿ lack of integration in policy-making  Examples of recommended action: Ÿ Action plan for sustainable production and consumption Ÿ Research into moving taxes from the labour force to resource use, waste disposal, etc. Ÿ Use public procurement to create green markets

Initiatives Driving New Policy  6 th Environmental Action Programme (6 th EAP) which runs from 2002 to 2012  2001 Sustainable Development Strategy and now the Renewed EU Sustainable Development Strategy (the “2006 SDS”)  Integrated Product Policy (IPP)

Integrated Product Policy (IPP)  IPP prevents “burden shifting” by trying to improve overall life-cycle performance  So far product policy has mainly focused on packaging, vehicles and electronics  EIPRO study (completed May 2006) finds three areas of private consumption (food & drink, private transportation and housing) cause 70-80% of life cycle impacts

Trends for Future Policy  Life cycle perspective (integrated policy)  Focus on “getting prices right” (to help dematerialise the economy)  Shared responsibility (wide stakeholder involvement, polluter pays, etc.)  Focus on implementation (better quality information, enforcement, etc.)  Mixed policy (mandatory + voluntary)

Relevance for Business  Requirements for tomorrow’s businesses:  A highly integrated supply chain – companies are often integrators of their suppliers’ parts so meeting requirements becomes a network activity  A long term focus – the cost of meeting new requirements can be minimised if included at design time and not as a catch up measure  A life cycle perspective – consider life cycle impacts of products and avoid burden shifting

Relevance for New Zealand  New policies will target the food industry – NZ exporters must minimise the life cycle impact of their produce to be competitive  NZ could learn from some of the EU’s efforts on integrated policy  NZ should consider adopting legislation like RoHS to avoid becoming a dumping ground for potentially hazardous products

Conclusions  The basis of environmental policy in the EU has shifted from environmental protection to sustainable development  Future policy will be better integrated so that the impacts of products and services are addressed over their whole life cycle  The EU is aiming to decouple the economy from resource use

Conclusions  Existing product policy in the EU focuses on packaging, vehicles and electronics  New policy is likely to also focus on food & drink and housing  New Zealand businesses must be proactive to avoid being locked out of this key market

Questions