Extended Producer Responsibility: A Systematic Review and Innovative Proposals for Improving Sustainability

Abstract

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is an environmental policy introduced in Europe, back in the 1990s. Under EPR, a producer's responsibility for its products is extended beyond the consumption stage, and the producer has to meet the targets of collection and recycling rates imposed by the EPR legislation. Motivated by the importance of this topic, in this paper, we conduct a systematic review on EPR from an operations management perspective. To be specific, we categorize the EPR literature, for both e-wastes and non-e-wastes, by research methodologies (qualitative case studies, quantitative empirical research, and analytical modeling studies) and discuss the respective findings. In addition to systematically exploring the state-of-the-art research within the context of EPR, we investigate pertinent issues, such as the implementation of EPR, EPR management systems, supply chain management under EPR, and EPR-related operations (such as end-of-life product management and design for recyclability). We highlight some EPR-related innovative measures and proposals in five areas, namely policy, product, process, supply chain, and technology. Finally, we discuss future research and propose a concluding picture of how EPR can help establish innovative operational measures to improve sustainability.