ABSTRACT
Integrated product policy (IPP) has been thought of as a new policy approach, based on several generally accepted principles such as a product chain spanning view, including a debate on suitable steering instruments. The European Union primarily focuses on methodological questions, such as best-practice guidelines for life-cycle assessment (LCA) and prefers public procurement as the main economic instrument. A general limitation of LCA consists in the fact that this instrument covers the potential impact of substances and energy, but not their actual impact on the local environment. Many companies have learned from incidents in the past that as soon as their products or their label are associated with negative ecological or social consequences of their action within the value chain, environmental protection becomes crucially important. Apart from appropriate environmental assessments, cooperation between the economic partners along the paper chain and between industry and interested parties—possibly taking place in the setting of product panels—is an important basis for IPP.
