Product Stewardship 2018 Takes DC by Storm

Product Stewardship 2018 was a worldwide gathering on how to make, distribute, and retire products in a responsible and ethical way. Held in the heart of downtown Washington, DC, this year’s conference was a full two and a half days of engaging presentations, workshops, questions, and connections.

Sessions reflected the variety of issues facing product stewards today. Speakers addressed regulations like the European Union’s Regulation, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), the United States’ Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA), and California’s Proposition 65. Experts shared best practices for everything from fostering new product stewards to marketing sustainable products. Industry partners held demonstrations of new products designed to make it easier to manage processes and products. No matter what an attendee’s background, there were sessions to engage product stewards of all varieties.

Common themes that emerged at this year’s conference included:

• Moving from being reactive to proactive
• The need for better data collection, both in amount and relevance
• Growing program maturity throughout industry
• How to deal with common challenges
• How to spread product stewardship throughout organizations
• Getting product stewards involved at the right time in the product development process

In its fifth year, the Product Stewardship conference has grown from 100 attendees to over 300, including 22 sites that participated virtually.

With so much to learn, it was impossible to see it all. Luckily, sessions will be added to the Stewardship On Demand learning library (Premium members get complete access to On Demand sessions. Find out how you can join and get access to this year’s recordings).

Over the coming weeks, the Full Circle Blog will feature recaps of several sessions from 2018 and highlight observations from around the conference hall. Check back regularly to find out what you missed or to relive this year’s fantastic gathering!