Understand how integrating product stewardship into your business strategy can help prevent or minimize negative impacts and maximize value.

Product stewardship is essential to the success of a multinational business. No longer “just” a simple paperwork exercise in regulatory compliance, product stewardship now holds a pivotal role in bringing products to global markets and positioning a brand with its customers. ERM offers insights into the value of that role in this series of white papers, the first of three chapters exploring how to capture business value from an investment in product stewardship.

We begin by examining how an effective product stewardship team can create opportunities and manage risks, and deepen the discussion by exploring methods to demonstrate a financial return on the investment in stewardship. We close Chapter 1 of our Insights series with a look at the value of sustainable chemistry in positioning a brand to capture market share.

ERM has shaped these ideas through our experience – countless conversations with clients across the business spectrum, in the course of helping them take products to market in countries around the world. We invite you to join the conversation.

The papers featured include:

The Business Value of Product Stewardship
by Kate Sellers 

This approach with help your organization responsibly manage the health, safety, and environmental aspects of raw materials, intermediate, and consumer products throughout their lifecycle and across their value chain. In this paper, ERM outlines this approach along with the essential elements of a successful multinational business and their greatest opportunities for growth. ERM also explores a key avenue for opening up new markets and what consumers are looking for in the brands they purchase from. Read more

Methods to Demonstrate a Financial Return on Investment in Product Stewardship
by John Phillips

More and more companies are expressing a stronger public commitment to sustainable products and business practices. The need for proactive, effective, and global product stewardship programs is growing due to changes in societal norms that are driving the demand for safer and more environmentally-sound products. This trend is reflected in consumer purchasing decisions, evolving global policies (laws and regulations), and retailer sustainability programs. Read more

Sustainable Chemistry and Brand Positioning
by Kate Sellers

We’ve all seen it: product greenwashing1 that shatters credibility in the marketplace. How can greener chemistry achieve real sustainability goals and also serve to position a brand in the marketplace? This white paper explores that question and provides benchmarking perspective on implementing a successful program. Neither scientists nor the marketplace offer a consistent definition for sustainable chemistry. That lack of common definition and the corresponding lack of standard protocols for implementing or measuring a sustainable chemistry program can cause confusion and make it difficult to know where to start in designing a sustainable chemistry program. Read more

Contact information is provided in each paper. Please feel free to engage with our ERM authors.