Plastics Industry Association releases statement on sustainability
Plastics Industry Association releases statement on sustainability
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The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS), which is based in Washington, has announced that it has adopted of its first-ever Sustainability Statement, adding that it “codifies the association’s dedication to sustainability.” By releasing the statement, the association says it hopes to inspire other like-minded organizations and plastics companies to commit to these principles.
The statement, which was unanimously approved by the association’s leadership, reads:
“The Plastics Industry Association encourages all companies engaged in plastics manufacturing to make sustainability a guiding principle at all levels of operation. Sustainable plastic manufacturing conducts business in a way that seeks to drive value creation for society, the environment and the industry. It also strives for improvement to reduce impacts on natural resources, minimizing waste generation and shifting toward renewable energy options, all of which reduce greenhouse gas impacts. Efforts should be guided by scientific data that measures the impacts of the many life cycle stages of plastic products, consistent with the values of sustainable materials management, and strive to keep materials in circularity for remanufacturing whenever it yields the greatest environmental benefit. These activities should be measured and reported with integrity and transparency.”
PLASTICS Vice President of Sustainability Kim Holmes says, “We want to provide our members with a guiding principle for how they should integrate sustainability into their operations. Further, we want people to understand PLASTICS’ ongoing and tireless efforts to help improve sustainability in our industry.”
“As a brand owner, we’re familiar with the importance of making a bona fide commitment to sustainability,” says Jay Olson, materials engineering and technology manager at Deere & Co. and a member of PLASTICS’ Sustainability Advisory Board. “PLASTICS, however, is unique among manufacturing trade associations for taking the lead and creating a statement that challenges companies in the industry and makes it clear for all to see that this association walks the walk when it comes to promoting sustainable practices.”
The association says it has been working for many years to increase sustainability in the industry by leading and supporting a number of sustainability initiatives. For example, PLASTICS’ Zero Net Waste program educates companies on how they can turn their waste into valuable resources or altogether eliminate waste in manufacturing.
PLASTICS also leads demonstration projects intended to challenge industries, like automotive and retail, to redefine their supply chains to incorporate more recycled plastics. PLASTICS’ End of Life Vehicle (ELV) project explores the technical and economic feasibility of recovering and recycling plastics from obsolete vehicles, while the Supply Chain Guide to Circularity: Retail Series informs brand retailers about how to incorporate recycled content into high-end packaging and connects them with the full plastics supply chain to find solutions to their recovery challenges.
The association says it also has demonstrated its interest in sustainability by funding projects intended to create new end market opportunities for plastic film, such as the Materials Recovery for the Future (MRFF) program, a research collaborative to make all flexible plastic film recyclable at the curbside in residential recycling programs.
More information about PLASTICS’ recycling and sustainability initiatives is available at www.plasticsindustry.org/supply-chain/recycling-sustainability.
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Source: Recycling Today
Plastics Industry Association releases statement on sustainability
<![CDATA[The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS), which is based in Washington, has announced that it has adopted of its first-ever Sustainability Statement, adding that it “codifies the association’s dedication to sustainability.” By releasing the statement, the association says it hopes to inspire other like-minded organizations and plastics companies to commit to these principles. The statement, which was unanimously approved by the association’s leadership, reads: “The Plastics Industry Association encourages all companies engaged in plastics manufacturing to make sustainability a guiding principle at all levels of operation. Sustainable plastic manufacturing conducts business in a way that seeks to drive value creation for society, the environment and the industry. It also strives for improvement to reduce impacts on natural resources, minimizing waste generation and shifting toward renewable energy options, all of which reduce greenhouse gas impacts. Efforts should be guided by scientific data that measures the impacts of the many life cycle stages of plastic products, consistent with the values of sustainable materials management, and strive to keep materials in circularity for remanufacturing whenever it yields the greatest environmental benefit. These activities should be measured and reported with integrity and transparency.” PLASTICS Vice President of Sustainability Kim Holmes says, “We want to provide…