Today society must move to full cost accounting as a way to understand the environmental, social and monetary costs of resource depletion and waste generation. In supporting the development of cleaner production and cleaner products the governments play a major role. Governments need to develop resour ce policies favouring long-life products, renewable energy and natural materials. Iza Kruszewska, Greenpeace and Sacha Kranendonk, Wuppertal Institute. EPR The focus of EPR is on product systems and has the aim to encourage producers to prevent pollution and reduce resource and energy use in each stage of the product life-cycle.
Producers bear a degree of responsibility for all the environmental impacts of t heir products.
The model example of EPR is the 'product take back', where the producer takes back a product at the end of its useful life either directly of through a third party. Instead of EPR they favour Extended Stakeholder Responsibility, which disperses responsibility onto consumers. Life-cycle analysis Databanks, provided with information on products can be used as a instrument of pressure towards the industry. It is a presentation of the ecological rucksack of a product. Some products can't be recycled because of their high level of toxication.