Our Mission
The world that we live in is full of opportunity and challenge, problems and potential solutions. Our specific focus here is on the two realities of climate change and plastic waste. Climate change is an essential fact recognized by an overwhelming scientific consensus that human activity is a key driver for this change. Concerning plastics we focus on its importance in our daily lives, its potential for good and its potential to do significant damage to the climate. Plastics are not the whole story concerning climate change but clearly play a major role manifested as plastic waste which we see almost everyday and the impact of plastics production and use on the climate in the form of carbon emissions.
Our goal is to enable engagement at the intersection of plastics and climate. We are not alone. Today we see a world consisting of those within the plastic industry, some of us having spent years upon years within this industry, and those outside the industry who are at once passionate and clearly focused on the problems that plastics are seen to be causing. We are fortunate that a new generation of concerned global citizens are demanding attention and action concerning the problems of plastic in the environment.
Both plastic industry members and climate activists are heavily invested in the future of plastics and both see the need for changes. There must be common ground to work together. This is essential if real change is to happen because although both the industry member and the activist are fully engaged, the great majority of the general public, and we cannot blame them, have a full plate of life that they deal with. They frankly are fully engaged in their daily lives and there remains little time to spend on plastic and climate matters. When they do this often leads to frustration regarding the complexity of the issues and can descend into indifference. We as industry members and climate activists must work together as allies in the cause of the proper role of plastics in society and its impact on climate and we need to work together to bring the general public with us. The industry cannot and will not do this on its own. And clear eyed activists know as well that change will only truly happen if the industry is working together with them to make these changes. This is what we are about.
We must engage
The challenge before us demands this
“Us versus them” division will only make things worse
Industry members and activists care the most
The rest of the world is otherwise busy with life
Industry ignoring activists is not an option.
Burning down the plastic plants not an option;
Generational to some extent
We can learn from each other
3 Pillars for Engagement
We believe that even during this time of great division there is still plenty of room for common ground. There must be common ground. Considering the matter of plastic and the climate: the problems of plastic waste and carbon emissions and the search for solutions to improve our situation, we believe it critical to enable engagement among those most tuned in to the subject, namely members of the plastics industry (employees of all functions and levels) on the one hand (those inside the industry gates) and the highly committed (and often, but not entirely, younger) climate activists on the other, who increasingly raise their concerns about the problems associated with plastic (those outside the industry gates). We believe this common ground exists among industry members and activists and that engagement is best enabled based on 3 pillars:
Science based and viable
Gone are the days when industry could regard itself as the only science based player
Today many activists know their science as well as or better than the industry experts
Science is our best tool for discernment
Circular economy mindset
The economy is part of the environment
Regardless if your point of departure is from inside or outside the industry gates, looking to the challenges of plastic waste and carbon emissions can be viewed most clearly with a scientific mindset. Gone are the days when only industry regarding itself as the science based player. Today climate activists are often highly educated along the lines of STEM/STEAM and in fact many know the chemistry of the problems better than many in the plastics industry. Reasoning based on science is common ground for engagement. And the goal, the seeking and implementation of sustainable solutions logically and definitionally must mean viable solutions. Solutions that do not work over time, technically and economically, cannot be regarded as sustainable.
Beyond greenwashing
Greenwashing is fooling oneself or others or both on matters of climate and sustainability. Can be intentional or unintentional
Greenwashing is failure
Greenwashing is done by companies having no legitimate case for sustainability concerning their offering
Most examples come from industry, but activists can also greenwash
Good faith engagement and good science are antidotes to greenwashing
We view greenwashing as fooling oneself or others regarding claims relating to climate and sustainability. This can be based on ignorance or can be intentional. There exist examples upon examples of greenwashing related to plastics and yes, the bulk of it comes from the industry itself, again for purpose self deception or the deception of others. However, a sort of greenwashing sometimes takes place among the public of which even climate activists can sometimes commit. We endeavor to move the state of play beyond greenwashing, seeing it as a failure to recognize the reality of the problems (being science based helps us here) and seek to develop truly sustainable solutions moving forward. We believe that good science is an antidote to greenwashing.
Good faith, cultivating respect
Take a step. Listen
Skeptical yes, cynical no
Good faith, not blind faith. Trust and verify
Overcome the “us versus them” paradigm
Dispense with stereotypes and caricatures
Honestly, there is oftentimes skepticism bordering on cynicism looking out from both sides of the industry gate. The industry grey hairs thinking these loud young people let their passions get ahead of their reasoning. And the young activists seeing an aging boomer, afraid of a changing world and its impact on his stock portfolio. Equally, it is easy to cast these views aside. It is simply a choice. A choice to take a step, a step in good faith, to make a positive rather than a negative assumption about the other. We can do this. We must. The challenges are too severe not to take this step. And we will see together, that we have more in common than at first we thought.
Allied for Action
There are industry members, there are climate activists, there are innovators throughout, and then there is the rest of world (the general public). PlasticClimateFuture enables engagement among these groups to ultimately achieve positives changes related to plastic and the climate