Extended Producer Responsibility Reporting

• Extended Producer Responsibility represents a fundamental change in waste management, mandating that producers fund and account for the collection and recycling of post-consumer waste.
• Precise data forms the backbone of EPR reporting and compliance. As a producer, it's essential to establish robust data collection processes to effectively carry out your responsibilities.
• Implementing supply chain traceability initiatives for your entire recycling value chain - so you can track waste streams full circle - is indispensable for meeting EPR reporting requirements.

In the realm of sustainable waste management, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) stands as a beacon of progress. It's a concept that redefines the responsibilities of producers, urging them to shoulder the environmental and social impacts of their products throughout their entire life cycle – with a particular focus on post-consumer care. 

One of the key pillars of effective EPR implementation is data and reporting. In this article, we'll delve into the intricate world of EPR reporting, exploring how you can capture accurate data for audit-proof compliance. 

What is Extended Producer Responsibility?

Extended Producer Responsibility is a paradigm shift in how we view product responsibility. Traditionally, the obligation of waste management has fallen on consumers and municipalities. EPR changes the game by making producers (e.g., brand owners, manufacturers, distributors) responsible for creating products and their eventual disposal. It's a holistic approach that aligns with the principles of a circular economy, emphasizing resource efficiency and minimizing environmental impact. 

Under the EPR umbrella, producers bear the financial onus for post-consumer waste collection and management. In most cases, companies opt to collaborate with Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) to supervise recycling initiatives. 

Behind every well-executed EPR program lies a robust legal and regulatory framework. These regulations outline the obligations and responsibilities of producers, ensuring that they play an active role in managing their products' end-of-life phase. More and more countries are adopting EPR schemes worldwide, and understanding the legal landscape is crucial for your business. 

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to EPR reporting requirements. The specific requisites can vary considerably depending on your business and the complex web of national and international regulations governing your operations. For example, the EU has enacted or proposed specific EPR regulations and requirements for different waste types, such as the Textile EPR Scheme and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. 

EPR Reporting: How to do it and what data is required.

EPR goes beyond mere rhetoric; it demands concrete actions, including reporting obligations. Producers must typically register with an appropriate governmental body and/or authorized program and submit various reports to regulatory authorities detailing their compliance efforts. These reports vary in scope and content, but they all serve the common goal of transparency. Timely and accurate reporting is essential to demonstrate your commitment to EPR principles.

Accurate data is the lifeblood of EPR reporting and compliance. As a producer, you must establish robust data collection processes to effectively fulfill your responsibilities. This could include implementing reliable supply chain traceability software – such as BanQu – for tracking your product’s entire lifecycle from production to disposal. 

Specific data and reporting requirements for EPR will differ depending on where you conduct business. Common examples of data parameters to track include: 

• Packaging weight by material (e.g., LDPE, HDPE, paper, aluminum, glass)
• Packaging type (e.g., primary, secondary, tertiary, eCommerce)
• Quantity of products/materials placed on the market
• Waste streams (e.g., household, street bin, landfill)
• Origin and volume of recovered recycled waste
• Waste reclaimer payment incentives 
• Progress towards set targets for waste reduction and recycling

EPR Reporting Challenges & Solutions

Meeting EPR reporting requirements is not without difficulty, but innovative solutions are available to simplify compliance:

Data Accuracy and Integrity

Challenge: Precise and consistent data across your value chain is essential for EPR data reporting. Inaccurate or unverifiable data can hinder compliance efforts.

Solution: Implement advanced data capture systems that ensure data accuracy. Utilize technologies such as blockchain to create a tamper-proof audit trail, enhancing the credibility of your data.

Last Mile Visibility

Challenge: Many producers lack visibility into the origins of their recycled waste, such as waste collected by indirect/informal suppliers in streets or landfills. This lack of visibility hampers tracking and monitoring efforts.

Solution: Establish a robust last-mile traceability system that tracks waste streams from their source. This traceability tool should be accessible by waste reclaimers and informal sector workers, ensuring a complete picture of waste movement.

Stakeholder Collaboration

Challenge: Effective recycling programs require seamless collaboration among all value chain actors, from waste reclaimers to PROs. Isolating any part of the supply chain can lead to inefficiencies.

Solution: Leverage digital platforms and technologies that connect all stakeholders in the recycling value chain. Implement traceability solutions that enable real-time communication and collaboration, allowing each actor to play their part efficiently.

Evolving Regulations

Challenge: EPR regulations are dynamic and subject to change. Staying updated on evolving national and international regulations is crucial but can be overwhelming.

Solution: Partner with a third-party service provider specializing in EPR, such as a PRO, for continual expertise and guidance. Additionally, implement a data capture platform with real-time track and trace to stay agile and proactive on compliance status. 

EPR Compliance Example

Ardagh Glass Packaging-South Africa (AGP) is a leading example of achieving EPR compliance through complete supply chain traceability and transparency. Through the money4glass initiative, AGP-South Africa is driving growth and improving its glass recycling value chain's transparency, efficiency, and equitability. By leveraging BanQu’s blockchain traceability technology, AGP-South Africa tracks and traces all cullet (i.e., crushed/broken glass) trade and recognizes all supply chain actors – including indirect suppliers. With seamless incentive payments/subsidies provided to glass recyclers and detailed information on waste streams, AGP-South Africa can prove and maintain EPR compliance status. 

Choosing The Right EPR Reporting Traceability Solution

From the landfill to the collection center to production and eventual distribution, implementing supply chain traceability initiatives for your recycling value chain is indispensable for meeting EPR reporting requirements. With the myriad of systems available, choosing the right traceability solution for your business can be overwhelming. The below criteria are essential in an audit-proof traceability tool, and will guide you in selecting the best partner: 

Last Mile Traceability

Your traceability partner should be able to track waste streams from their source (in real-time!), including the informal suppliers and waste reclaimers collecting waste from landfills and/or streets. Ensure your traceability system is built from the ground up. Meaning, the software is completely accessible in remote locations and device agnostic. Solutions that require apps (i.e., smartphones) may not work in remote areas and those that require hardware installation are not quickly scaleable.

Boots on the Ground

Like most supply chains, your recycling value chain can be complex with numerous players involved including waste reclaimers, collection centers, SMEs, PROs, and more. To ensure the success of your recycling programs, select a traceability partner with global experience who can provide in-field implementation and continued user and product support. You will need a partner who can implement the technology in the local language and understands cultural context and barriers for smooth product adoption.

Seamless System Interoperability

Streamlining your supply chain data is crucial. Your systems, like ERP, MRP, PLM, and suppliers' back-office systems, collect a lot of data. To keep everything smooth and consistent, ensure your traceability software can work seamlessly with these existing systems. This way, you'll eliminate data silos and have one central hub for all your data, making analysis and reporting a breeze. Also, verify your traceability partner has experience integrating with mobile money providers for cashless payment incentives to recyclers.

Customization & Scalability

Every producer's EPR requirements are unique. Therefore, your chosen partner should offer customized solutions aligning with your specific needs and operations. Moreover, they should have the scalability to accommodate your growth and evolving reporting demands. Select traceability software with modular functionality and unstructured data infrastructure so you can customize your traceability experience to capture the data parameters you need. 

Data Security & Safety

Your suppliers might, understandably, have reservations about sharing data, mainly due to concerns about keeping their confidential information safe. To build trust and boost their participation, opt for a traceability platform that's highly secure and tamper-proof, but also has user roles and permissions functions to keep data from being shared when it shouldn’t be. Blockchain, in particular, ensures top-notch data security by decentralizing data and storing immutable records. This way, your data remains safe from unauthorized access and completely GDPR-compliant, easing your suppliers' concerns.

EPR Reporting Made Easy, With BanQu

BanQu is a supply chain traceability SaaS that helps companies collect & report compliance, procurement, and Scope 3 and ESG data throughout their value chains. With BanQu, you can connect all your value chain data to accurately report on EPR requirements. BanQu registers direct and indirect suppliers at the last mile, so you can eliminate supply uncertainties and manage waste streams full circle. Additionally, our patented blockchain technology integrates with mobile money providers for targeted incentive payments – verified with SMS – to waste reclaimers so that you can boost collection rates and certify compliance. Curious if BanQu is right for your business? Schedule a call with our expert team today!