PLASTICS SPECIAL
45recyclinginternational.com | November/December | 2020
HAS THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
MADE ‘GREEN’ LESS OF A
PRIORITY IN THE BOARDROOM?
‘I thought at first that the pandemic
would take attention and energy away
from the sustainability agenda but to
my surprise it has had the opposite
effect. If anything, the drive has accel-
erated, partly because many business-
es have taken the opportunity to reset
their strategies more forcefully or
sooner than they had planned. We
also understand better how the sort of
systemic risks that climate change
brings can have dramatic and far-
reaching impacts. But the main reason
that senior executives give when I ask
why they have accelerated their
actions is that pressure from investors
has not dropped during the pandemic
– it’s increased. This is the year that
sustainable finance went mainstream.’
PLASTICS RECYCLERS, OEMS,
THE PACKAGING INDUSTRY ALL
NEED TO WORK TOGETHER
MORE TO GET THINGS DONE IN
THE INTEREST OF ALL OF US.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE
THEM?
‘I’ve noticed quite a few interesting
cross-industry collaborations springing
up, such as the Getting to Zero coali-
tion in shipping which aims to put a
zero emissions ship on the seas within
a decade. Initiatives like this bring
together the players from all relevant
areas with a common interest in
achieving change. Collaborations
work best when everyone involved
sees the advantages in achieving com-
mon goals, so the first and most
important step is a common state-
ment around this. Another helpful tip
is to understand the urgency behind
all this. One senior banker told me
this week that the sustainability agen-
da is now proceeding “at warp
speed”. There is no more time to sit
around and decide who should start.
Whoever isn’t solving this will be left
behind.’
HOW CRUCIAL IS THE ROLE
OF (PLASTICS) RECYCLERS IN
REDUCING CARBON EMISSIONS?
‘Although the issue of plastics waste
goes beyond carbon emissions, there
is still a tight connection between the
two. In the short term there is obvious-
ly a vital need to reduce embedded
emissions in discarded plastic products
by increasing recycling. In the medium
term there is the need for innovation in
materials and in design (circular think-
ing). And perhaps most importantly,
there is the need for the industry to
change its whole narrative. The reputa-
tional damage around plastic pollution
and the contribution of waste to the
climate challenge are growing expo-
nentially. Plastics recyclers have the
opportunity to reframe the entire
industry as the heroes not the villains!’
ANY FURTHER TAKE-AWAYS?
‘This is no time for incrementalism.
Think big and then think bigger!’
www.gabriellewalker.com
Fotobijschrift
A self-
confessed
‘ice addict’,
Gabrielle
Walker has
made more
than a dozen
trips to both
poles.
KADERKOP
??
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