On 2-3 July 2019, hundreds of product stewardship professionals will converge in Paris at the International Stewardship Forum. With more than 400 extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs operating worldwide for nearly 20 types of products, the Forum will forge strong relationships between product stewardship professionals around the globe from government, industry, non-profits, academia, and other sectors.

This year’s Forum is an unparalleled opportunity to share best practices for product take-back programs, discuss common challenges, and identify business opportunities. This global event is a unique collaboration between the Global Product Stewardship Council (GlobalPSC) and DASTRI, a French producer responsibility organization, and promises a distinctly European flavor. The event will build on the success of last year’s inaugural conference in Australia. In particular, in the context of developing a circular economy, round tables will be organized around the following topics:

• How to prioritize products and substances according to risks
• How to develop stakeholder and in particular beneficiary buy-ins
• How to improve the performance of the sectors (coordination, pooling, merger ...)
• How to allocate responsibility for the end-of-life of products (states, communities, marketers)
• How to take innovation into account in regulation
• How to move from a cost center approach to a value creation approach.