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Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Impacts on Fresh Produce Supply Chains | Fall 2025

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Section 1: Survey Purpose, Scope & Details

Thank you for participating in this important survey. Your feedback is crucial for helping the CPMA and its partners understand the real-world impacts of Canada's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations on the fresh produce supply chain.

Purpose of This Survey
The insights you provide will directly inform:
• The development of new guidance and resources to help industry members navigate EPR requirements.
• Tactical and strategic initiatives to mitigate the financial and operational impacts of these regulations.
• Inform CPMA and its association partners on the industry-wide impacts of EPR.
• Updates to existing CPMA EPR documents to better support your business.
What is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)?
EPR is an environmental policy approach in which a producer's responsibility for a product (including packaging) is extended to the post-consumer stage of its life cycle. This survey focuses on the provincial programs that regulate packaging and paper products (PPP).
Survey Scope
This questionnaire relates ONLY to EPR for primary and secondary packaging (e.g., boxes, clamshells, bags, labels, pallets, shrink wrap). Any considerations related to other waste items are excluded from this survey (e.g., agricultural plastics, PPE, hazardous waste, etc.).
Who Should Respond? (Understanding Your Role)
We want to hear from all members of the fresh produce supply chain, as EPR impacts businesses in different ways. These regulations create multiple layers of impact. You may be:
1. A Directly Obligated Producer: The business legally defined as the "producer" in one or more provinces, responsible for reporting data and paying program fees for your packaging.
2. A Supplier or Partner: A grower, packaging supplier, distributor, or broker who is not the obligated producer, but who may be experiencing indirect impacts (e.g., new data requests, administrative burdens, or costs being passed on by your customers).
Survey Details
• Estimated Time: This survey should take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete.
• Provincial Differences: We recognize that EPR programs and their impacts vary significantly by province. You will be asked to provide details specific to your regional operations.
• Deadline: The Survey will be open for submission until December 31, 2025.
• Confidentiality: Your individual responses will be kept strictly confidential. Data will only be reported in an aggregated and anonymized format.
Questions? If you have any questions about this survey, please contact: Dan Duguay Senior Director – Sustainability, CPMA dduguay@cpma.ca (613) 769-5670
Section 2: Company Profile (Demographics)
1.Which of the following best describes your primary role in the fresh produce supply chain?
2.What is the size of your organization? (Based on number of employees)
3.Where are you headquartered (Canadian Province or Territory, US State, Other)?
4.In which Canadian Provinces or Territories do you sell your products (select all that apply)
5.What role in your organization is primarily responsible for managing EPR compliance? (e.g., Operations, Finance, Sustainability, Owner, etc.)
Section 3: EPR Awareness & Understanding
6.How would you rate your organization's current awareness and understanding of its potential obligations under provincial EPR regulations for packaging?
Very Aware
Aware
Somewhat Aware
Not Aware
7.How did you first become aware of your EPR obligations?
8.How confident are you in your understanding of how a "Producer" (the business responsible for meeting the obligations under EPR) is defined and how it applies to your company, in the provinces where you operate?
Very Confident
Confident
Somewhat Confident
Not Confident
9.Which of the following best describes your company's primary relationship to provincial EPR regulations for packaging?
10.Are there any significant differences between provinces in terms of awareness and understanding of specific provincial EPR requirements you wish to highlight (if applicable)?
Section 4: Operational & Compliance Impacts
11.Please indicate, by order of priority, the challenges your organization faces with the following aspects of EPR compliance:
Significant Challenge
Moderate Challenge
Minor Challenge
Not a Challenge
Not Applicable
Knowing about the various management organizations (PROs) , the options to join them and the various services they offer
Understanding the different regulatory obligations in each province and how they apply to your company (or other actors in your supply chain)
Collecting the required data on packaging materials and weights
Understanding how and when to report your packaging data.
The fees associated with each packaging type
Budgeting to cover EPR fees
The administrative time/cost required for reporting
12.Has your organization changed, or is considering changing its packaging design and/or composition as a direct result of EPR regulations and their associated fees?
13.If you answered yes or considering changes to Q12, please briefly describe the changes underway or under consideration (e.g., design, composition, lightweighting, etc.)
14.Are there any significant differences between provinces in terms of operational and compliance impacts you wish to highlight (if applicable)?
Section 5: Financial Impacts
15.Have you received an invoice for EPR fees from a customer or a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO)?
16.If Yes to Q10, how significant are these EPR fees in relation to your total packaging costs (as a % of total packaging costs)?
17.If yes to Q10, how much have your EPR fees increased over the past three years (since 2023)?
18.This question is for Growers/Packers/Shippers. Have you been notified by a customer that you will be responsible for their EPR fees as a condition of doing business?
19.How would you rate the transparency of the fee-setting process from the Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs)?
Very Transparent
Transparent
Somewhat Transparent
Not Transparent
20.Are there any significant differences between provinces in terms of financial impacts you wish to highlight (if applicable)?
Section 6: Strategic Challenges & Future Outlook
21.In your view, how has the introduction of EPR regulations impacted the small to medium-sized businesses in the produce sector? Rate the impact of the following considerations (Scale: Significant Negative Impact, Moderate Negative Impact, Minor Negative Impact, No Impact, Positive Impact)
Significant Negative Impact
Moderate Negative Impact
Minor Negative Impact
No Impact
Positive Impact
Management time (i.e. learning about the regulations and understanding my obligations and options), educating the business, undertaking internal and external reporting)
Cost of compliance fees
Competitiveness
22.What is the biggest strategic challenge your organization faces regarding EPR?
23.Are there any strategic opportunities that have availed themselves from managing your EPR regulations (i.e. exploring different packaging material types, trialing reuse, etc.)?
24.Are there any significant differences between provinces in terms of strategic challenges and future outlook you wish to highlight (if applicable)?
Section 7: FOR CPMA MEMBERS ONLY - CPMA Guidance & Support
25.Have you previously accessed the EPR resources on the CPMA website?
26.What kind of information or tools would be most helpful for CPMA to provide to help your organization manage and navigate EPR going forward? (Select top 3)
27.Is there anything else you would like to share about your experience to date with EPR programs? Identify any significant province-specific issues you wish to highlight.