Page 54 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

External Drivers: The Voice of Society 33

case, the focus of this book is on direct GHG mitigation through
DFE, arguably the most effective means for a company to reduce its
life-cycle carbon footprint while generating shareholder value.

Governmental Initiatives: Stick and Carrot

An important driver of increased environmental responsibility has
been the influence of governmental initiatives in motivating improved
environmental performance. These include broad regulatory direc-
tives in the European Union aimed at curbing toxics use and waste,
as well as government award programs in the U.S. that recognize
environmental leadership. This book does not attempt to catalogue
the complex field of global environmental regulation. While the
regulatory “stick” may be effective at changing corporate behavior,
environmental laws can also stifle innovation, especially when they
prescribe specific technologies to be implemented. DFE is most valu-
able in the competitive arena beyond compliance, where companies
can differentiate their products and gain a technological advantage.
In this arena, the most effective motivational “carrots” that govern-
ments can provide are market-based incentives, such as tax breaks or
public recognition of the successful innovators.

International Directives
In 2001 the European Union (E.U.) adopted a broad sustainable devel-
opment strategy aimed at developing integrated policies to address
climate change and energy; transport, production, and consumption;
natural resource protection; and human health and well being. To
promote sustainable production and consumption, the strategy calls
for green procurement, environmental innovation, product labeling,
and recycling and reuse. Accordingly, the European Union has issued
a series of directives to its member states requiring the implemen-
tation of this policy. Many leading companies were tracking these
initiatives for years in advance and were prepared to demonstrate
compliance as soon as the directives became law. The most signifi-
cant directives influencing DFE practices include the following.
Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (1994). This directive
requires manufacturers to recover and dispose or recycle packaging
associated with their products. Companies typically comply by pay-
ing a license fee to join a nonprofit program, such as Green Dot,
which has become a standard take-back program in most European
countries. Member nations are required to implement systems to
attain the following targets by the end of 2008: At least 60% by weight
of packaging waste to be recovered or incinerated for energy recov-
ery; minimum recycling targets for different packaging waste mate-
rials as follows: 60% for glass, 60% for paper and board, 50% for
metals, 22.5% for plastics, and 15% for wood.