Four things businesses can do to fix the plastics problem
In a February 2018 article, Ellen MacArthur, founder of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (the mission of which is to accelerate the transition to a circular economy), and Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, wrote about Unilever's pledge to use 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable plastic packaging by 2025:
"Constructive dialogue between industry and policy-makers is a prerequisite" to progress. "Policy-makers are essential actors to provide the infrastructure and create the enabling regulatory landscape for a circular economy to unfold... Business leaders need to positively engage with governments on the required policies to shift the system, for example the implementation of effective extended producer responsibility schemes.
Given the scale of the issue, our models of production and consumption deserve a proper shock, one we need to join forces to initiate, and which will reveal the economic as well as environmental benefits we’re currently overlooking."