Assessment of the Extended Producer Responsibility Impact on the Environment Improvement

Abstract This paper is devoted to the analysis of the application of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program as one of the national environmental policy instrument. The study of the relationship between the presence of the EPR in the country and its impact on the environment can be defined as the scientific novelty of this research paper. The detailed review of the EPR, the regulatory procedure of the program in the state environmental policy, the advantages of the EPR strategy are considered in theoretical part of the thesis. In addition, the global experience in the application of this program, the specific features of the implementation of the EPR in Russia in comparison with other countries are also highlighted. The empirical part of the study provides the in-depth analysis of the regression models, which assess the impact of some factors on the environmental indicators (the level of carbon dioxide emissions and the total amount of waste produced). The binary variable, which indicates the presence/absence of the EPR in the country, is selected as the main explanatory parameter. The main hypothesis of the study is the following: the presence of the EPR in the country affects the improvement of the environment. The statistical data from Eurostat, World Bank and the World Atlas Knoema were used in carrying out the analysis. The data of 97 countries for the year 2012 were analyzed. The regression analysis was performed with the use of the statistical program Eviews. According to the results, the presence of the EPR in the country is accompanied by a reduction of CO2 emissions and the total volume of waste produced. The results obtained can be used further to analyze the impact of the Extended Producer Responsibility on the environment, when dealing with the problem of the conservation of natural resources.