Product Stewardship is a broad concept that doesn’t fit neatly into existing organization charts because it cuts across disciplines and requires facility in dealing with just about every function within a company. It goes beyond the traditional compliance focus of environmental, health and safety professionals.
There is no consensus definition of what product stewardship even is. My view:
Product stewardship means products are developed, produced, and managed throughout their life cycle in ways that both minimize risk to health and the environment and maximize value to customers.
Tom Grumbles, Sr. Safety, Health and Environmental Specialist at Sasol North America and President-elect of the Product Stewardship Society, gives a nice interview with the National Association for Environmental Management (NAEM) on the challenges of establishing a product stewardship program. I also encourage you to check out the resources provided by the Product Stewardship Society.
EHS Strategies, Inc. can help you define what product stewardship means for your company and how you can begin implementation or improve the effectiveness of your program.