In November 2020, United Nations Environment (UNEP's) regional S. E Asia headquarters, Bangkok, hosted its second annual Sea of Solutions conference, this year held virtually, and with the co-host country, Vietnam. We were happy to be part of this event again, via our Plasticity Forum, as a side event talking about the importance of measurement and commitments. included in our conversation was Mr. Joshua Wycliffe, Permanent Secretary, Ministry Waterways and the Environment, Fiji, and Mr. Alok Pandy, Senior Program Manager at Solidaridad Asia. We introduced our Commitments Accelerator for Plastic Pollution (CAPP) at this event, which Fiji is an early Flagship Nation partner of.
Last year, we hosted the full business day of the conference, which was our 13th global event since our launch of the Plasticity Forum at the Rio+20 Earth Summit in 2012, with the event being one of the only business events that solely focuses on innovations and solutions for plastic in its second life.
This year's Sea of Solutions event also focused on the need for Plastic Footprinting, and baseline measurement, which we have been promoting for 10 years now with our Plastic Disclosure Project (PDP). This is important, because if you do not measure what you have to begin with, in detail of volumes, types and what happens to it in the end, it is hard to manage your overall footprint over time, particularly if your company or institutions decides to make commitments to reduce materials, increase recycling, increase bio materials, etc.
A summary of the outcomes from the Sea Circular event is included, with the need for plastic footprinting as a highlighted feature on page 4, as seen below.
B: Transformation through footprint measurement, reporting, and disclosure, plastic neutrality and monetizing waste for communities and businesses:
Business representatives shared the societal concern over the damage of plastic pollution to the environment and to people and showcased a range of ways to solve the problem. Innovative technology, enabling regulations and economic incentives were highlighted as an indispensable part of solution-creation. 1. Plastic footprinting 2. Plastic credits and neutrality 3. Extended producer responsibility 4. Use of alternative materials and designing for sustainability 5. Harmonized regulations and standards 6. Levelling the playing field for players in an industry with global guidelines and models that work
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