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Advancing Resource Efficiency in the Supply Chain - Observations and Opportunities for Action

This document provides U.S. EPA’s perspectives on the discussions at the G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency U.S.-hosted Workshop on the Use of Life Cycle Concepts in Supply Chain Management to Achieve Resource Efficiency that was held March 22-23, 2016.

The purpose of this report is to distil the robust and constructive workshop discussions captured in the Workshop Summary Proceedings released in June 2016 into critical areas for targeted life cycle-based resource efficiency dialogue and action that can facilitate efforts to mainstream and institutionalize resource efficiency. In particular, the seven critical needs areas that the U.S. EPA has identified for this report, based on workshop discussions, can inform future focused dialogues in appropriate forums on short- and long-term actions which individuals and organizations from various sectors of society can champion. Under each critical needs area, questions are posed that should be addressed in the context of the challenges, “best” practices, and potential actions which can be found in Appendix 1.

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