Schneider Leader: Why We Need Paradigm Shift on Plastics

The atmosphere is far from light among sustainability leaders, in the wake of the depressing failure to agree a global plastics treaty at the INC-5 Summit in Busan, South Korea.

Despite involving the leaders of 200 nations, alongside their best negotiators, the talks ended on Sunday without a treaty.

A new summit will convene next year, building on a draft text that has been developing during INC-5.

The text itself is controversial, with many nations and organisations believing no deal was a better option than a deal without teeth.

The Busan summit was expected to be the climax of two years of talks, but it ended with a continuation of the gulf between countries lobbying for a comprehensive deal and those nations whose economies are tied to continued demand for the fossil fuel-based material.

More than 100 countries had backed a proposal spearheaded by Panama, pushing for a global target to reduce plastic production to “sustainable levels”.

But it is understood that Saudi Arabia coordinated a push from oil-rich and plastic-producing countries to block any proposals for the treaty that threatened to reduce plastic production. The vast majority of plastic is made from oil or natural gas.

Christophe de Maistre, Segment President for Energies and Chemicals at Schneider Electric, reacts to the news and offers his thoughts on why, even without the treaty in place, we need to accelerate our progress toward circularity.

Q. Following Busan, how can our approach to plastics change?

Unfortunately, nations have not been able to reach a significant agreement on The United Nations Global Plastics Treaty after the fifth round of negotiations.

With less than 10% of the plastic produced globally being recycled since 1950, it's evident that our approach to consuming and disposing of plastics must change.

However, plastic recycling is just one half of the problem. With plastic production now responsible for four times more greenhouse gas emissions than the aviation industry, reducing single-use plastic production is of the utmost importance, and this must be met alongside improved recycling efforts.

Q. Are there ways, without a treaty, to drive circularity?

Even without the treaty in place, we must expedite our progress toward circularity.

Our initial focus should be on integrating seamless connections to recycling facilities within our infrastructure and supply chains while enhancing sorting techniques through innovations like AI and embedded digital product watermarks.

To bolster circularity further, this process must be met with the implementation of advanced chemical recycling methods and improved mechanical recycling.

Q. You want to see a ‘paradigm shift’. Can you explain it? 

Many existing tools available today can help make sustainable plastic recycling a reality, especially when combined with new technologies like software-defined automation for example, which offers the flexibility needed to respond to a dynamic market, allowing for rapid adjustments in operations to enable it to scale.

Furthermore, industry and businesses at large should also look to limit the consumption of single-use plastics.

At Schneider Electric, we are committed to realise 100% of our primary and secondary packaging, free from single-use plastic and use only recycled cardboard by 2025.

To achieve this requires a systemic shift from the traditional linear model of "take-make-dispose" to a regenerative approach that involves designing and utilising products that are durable, repairable and recyclable.

Encouraging this paradigm shift in industry, alongside driving collaboration to support the growth of the advanced recycling sector, will be key to reducing plastic consumption and waste.

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