Over the past decade, product stewardship information management has become increasingly complex with the introduction of a slew of new and evolving regulations and a far higher profile awarded to socio-environmental concerns raised by customers and consumers.

Based on evidence from detailed global research over the past five years and validation interviews with senior executives at ten multinational corporations, this study identifies five phases of maturity for product stewardship information management. Each of these phases can be assessed through eight dimensions which are: (i) organizational culture, (ii) governance, (iii) workflows and processes, (iv) digitization, (v) breadth of coverage, (vi) analysis and reporting, (vii) supply chain management, and (viii) education and awareness. While each dimension has five distinct phases, large firms and conglomerates may find that more than one phase is applicable to them depending on the business unit and region of concern.

Product Stewardship Performance is best evaluated across eight separate dimensions. This research identifies these dimensions.