A Plastic Pollution-Free Future Requires Collaboration and Innovation

This Earth Day 2024, celebrated April 22, the environmental community invites us all to call attention to the state of #PlanetvsPlastics and support efforts to advance a future free from plastics pollution.

Whether we like it or not, plastic has become critical to modern life. Synthetic polymers have made many items safer, stronger and more affordable. As a result, the world is producing 430 million metric tons of new plastics every year. And at this rate, the quantity will triple by 2060, according to the UN.

But the rise in plastic materials has bred some serious problems:

• Plastic contributes to global warming. Almost all plastics are made from chemicals that come from the production of planet-warming fuels (gas, oil and even coal).
• Plastic waste that ends up in oceans or other environments disrupt and threaten local ecosystems.
• As plastic breaks down into microplastics, it releases toxic chemicals into our food and water sources and circulates through the air we breathe.

Members of the United Nations want to finalize a treaty by the end of 2024 to reduce the vast amount of plastic waste that piles up in landfills and the environment. The treaty aims to tackle the entire life cycle of plastic, with the primary goal of developing circular economies. Such a treaty would create common rules and practices around plastic materials, increase the transparency of the use of plastics across value chains and level the playing field for industry.

The treaty would also respond to global consumers, who overwhelmingly support cutting plastic production, ending single-use plastic and advancing reuse-based solutions. A recent global survey conducted by Greenpeace found that as many as 90% of people support a transition away from single-use plastic packaging to reusable and refillable packaging and 75% support a ban on single-use plastic. What’s driving their support for cutting the production and use of plastics in daily life? They cite concerns over the impact of plastics on their health and the health of their loved ones and children.

Key tenants for companies to keep in mind when communicating around plastic use:

As companies and brands determine how to best communicate around their plastic use and the impact it has on the environment, here are a few considerations.

• Clarity: Developing more sustainable plastic alternatives is a complicated process and scaling innovations across a broad portfolio of products is a marathon, not a sprint. When companies are deciding how to communicate about their effort on reducing plastic, focus on clarity of message: This is where we are, this is what we’re doing, this is where we hope to be.
• Transparency: We are all part of the problem and to create change, we all need to be part of the solution. Given how much we rely on plastics, the road to creating a fully circular economy will be a bumpy one. It’s important to be real about the challenges companies face in removing plastics from the value chain and work in collaboration with others to find solutions. As evident by the Business Coalition For A Global Plastic Treaty, companies are looking for guidance and support as they attempt to reach their own goals.
• Simplicity: While consumers are supportive of reducing plastic waste and eliminating single-use plastics, there’s an intention-action gap that slows down progress. Companies must decrease the effort it takes for consumers to adopt products and practices that reduce plastic waste. That might look like lowering prices of sustainable, plastic-free products or creating nudges through marketing and communications that improve reduce, reuse and recycling efforts.

Creating a better shared future will take innovation and collaboration across the value chain, from how plastic is created to how consumers reuse, refill and recycle products once they are done using them. It’s going to take all of us, working together towards a common shared goal of reducing plastic waste and creating a circular economy.