Leasing Programs

Companies Who Have Financially Benefited from EPR Programs

Leasing is a market-driven EPR mechanism, whereby a company finds it more profitable to retain ownership and responsibility of a product throughout its lifecycle by leasing it to consumers for designated periods of time. Leasing often secures customer loyalty by ensuring that consumers constantly come back for upgraded products or continued services.

Xerox

Xerox leases 75% of the equipment it sells, and often accepts trade-ins on products that are not leased. To increase the economic value of end-of-life materials and parts, Xerox implemented the Asset Recycling Management Program (ARMP) to identify design plans that optimize the use of materials that can be safely cycled back into new products. By focusing on materials that are beneficial through out the lifecycle, Xerox is working to have waste-free products and waste-free production facilities. Xerox has also taken steps to design out hazardous materials such as brominated flame retardants, lead, and mercury.

In additional to reducing the use of raw materials, Xerox has also worked to reduce energy consumption by requiring most of its products to be certified by the EPA’s Energy Star program, which indicates that a product goes above and beyond federal energy use regulations. Xerox estimates that its efforts to design environmentally friendly products has saved the company more than $2 billion, in addition to keeping 1.2 billion pounds of electronic waste out of landfills.

For more information on environmental and economic benefits of Xerox's leasing programs, please visit www.xerox.com

Interface

The following excerpt from Interface’s 1997 Sustainability Report illustrates the company’s commitment to designing products that minimize the use of materials and maximize reusability and recyclability.

Interface is redesigning its processes and products into cyclical material flows.... We are reducing the use of raw materials and working to get the most value out of the materials we employ. This includes careful recycling of synthetic materials so that waste materials in society become valuable raw materials in industry.... Manufacturers must redesign and create their products with components that will retain value when they return, and not just when they leave the factory.

Interface has experimented with many different iterations of leasing programs to ensure their products operate in a closed loop system. They have reduced waste by replacing carpet tiles rather than entire flooring, which significantly reduced raw material use. The company has also prioritized plant-based materials over synthetic materials and maximized recyclability in their product design. However there is no clear policy on clean material use, and the company still recycles PVC for some floor undercoatings.

For more information on Interface’s design strategies and leasing programs, please visit www.interfacesustainability.com