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Investigating the effectiveness of e-waste policies using indicators and evaluating various national policies to recommend the best strategies for managing e-waste. The study highlights the challenges in using indicators for policy evaluation and emphasizes the need for tailored approaches based on country-specific contexts.
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EASY–ECO 2010 Sustainable Development Evaluations in Europe: From a Decade of Practices, Politics and Science to Emerging Demands Brussels , 17-19 November 2010 The limits of indicators in public policy evaluation: The case of e-waste. Cédric Gossart
The Holy Grail of policy evaluation « Is my policy evaluation going to be of any use?
The e-waste problem • WEEE = Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment • Hazardous waste • 40 000 000 tonnes (world) • 300% growth rate in developing countries • Illegal exports
E-waste policies • Europe: WEEE Directive 2002/96/EC • USA: State patchwork (NCER: 20% collection rate) • China: China WEEE effective in 2011 • Switzerland: since 1994 (>80% collection rate) • France: since 2006 (25% collection rate)
Best E-waste Policies project Initial aim: To comparatively evaluate different national policies and legislation on e-waste and, from this, to come up with legal and policy recommendations for “best e-waste policies”... 4
The indicators project Aim:To explore how indicators can be used to identify best e-waste policies. • Step 1: Collect indicators to build the e-waste profile of different countries, • Step 2: Compare these profiles and identify key factors conducive to best e-waste policies.
« Best » e-waste policy? Policy which outcomes meet the objectives defined in the official ewaste policy of a given country. • No one-size-fits-all: • The definition of “good” results varies across countries, • A policy producing good results in country A may not produce the same results in country B. • The criteria upon which e-waste policies are to be evaluated is the outcome of a democratic choice that cannot be determined by experts evaluating these policies (e.g. costs of the take back system, or collection and treatment rates).
Method • Collect indicators: • Explore several cases (European countries: to find data more easily => mostly early movers: Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, France), • Build framework for e-waste profile based on collected indicators, • Test framework on one early moving country (Switzerland). • Identify key factors supporting best e-waste policies: • Questionnaire to stakeholders (data analysis not enough)
Results • E-waste profile of Switzerland • Mapping available indicators (.../…) • Objective data analysis difficult to identify factors => Questionnaire for subjective analysis of factors conducive to best e-waste policies.
Conclusions (1/2) Andrew Jordan (UEA) • Implementation lies in the hands of member states • Need common evaluation criteria that go beyond mere economic efficiency John Hontelez (EEB) • Simple indicators may have more impact on the policy-making process than complex indicators sets.
Conclusions (2/2) • The Holy Grail of policy evaluation does not exist. • My evaluation has been useful if somebody has learned something along the way. • I learned how to reach the saturated ears of policy-makers and citizens: • The E-waste Solutions Index (ESI) …/…
Source: StEP @ project internal document, please do not quote.
Thank you Cédric Gossart Associate Professor, Telecom InstituteETOS research group9, rue Charles Fourier - 91011, Evry Cedex – FranceTel. : +33 (0)1 60 76 46 69Fax : +33 (0)1 60 76 42 86 Email: Cedric.Gossart@telecom-em.euhttp://etos.it-sudparis.eu/membres/CedricGossart/Home.htm