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John Elkington

John Elkington

A world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development.

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Natural capital cost of plastics exceeds $75bn a year

John Elkington · 23 June 2014 · Leave a Comment

why-pdp

Every so often an initiative comes along where you think, “I wish I had thought of that!”

When I think of the environmental issues that most concern me, one is the rapid growth of the great gyres of plastic waste and debris that are choking the world ocean. And now there is the Plastic Disclosure Project. I have no idea what impact it will have, but it’s potentially an exciting new element in the disclosure firmament.

PDP points out that: roughly 33% of plastic is for single use, then thrown away; approximately 85% of total global plastic used is not recycled; plastic negatively impacts over 700 species of animals and birds; and plastics can hang around in the environment for hundreds of years. Among other things, PDP will encourage the annual disclosure of plastic footprints and management strategies; encourage efficiencies in plastic use, reuse and recycling; and broaden awareness of plastic investment risks and opportunities

The  project is being developed by the Hong Kong and California-based Ocean Recovery Alliance. This focuses on bringing innovation, technologies, creativity and collaborations together to address some of the challenges that face the ocean and our broader environment. Two preventative solutions to the plastic waste issues are the PDP and Global Alert, both of which were announced at the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative in New York.

A new report on the natural capital cost of plastic in the consumer goods industry (a joint program with UNEP and Trucost) is available – and its findings are getting coverage in the business media.

I, for one, will be watching this space with great interest.

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Introduction

I began this blog with an entry reporting on a visit to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod, on 30 September 2003. The blog element of the website has gone through several iterations since, with much of the older material still available.

Like so many things in my life, blog entries blur the boundaries between the personal and the professional. As explained on this site’s Home Page, the website and the blog are part platform for ongoing projects, part autobiography, and part accountability mechanism.

In addition, my blogs have appeared on many sites such as: Chinadialogue, CSRWire, Fast Company, GreenBiz, Guardian Sustainable Business, and the Harvard Business Review.

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About

John Elkington is a world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development. He is currently Founding Partner and Executive Chairman of Volans, a future-focused business working at the intersection of the sustainability, entrepreneurship and innovation movements.

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john@johnelkington.com  |  +44 203 701 7550 | Twitter: @volansjohn

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