This year’s Earth Day seeks to raise awareness of plastic waste. The tech industry remains committed to pioneering efforts that drive forward solutions for a sustainable future. As we honor Earth Day and its call to action, here are several ways the tech industry and global policymakers can work together to shape sustainable solutions that form the basis of a well-stewarded environment year-round.
Reducing Problematic and Avoidable Plastic
As part of our commitment to reducing plastic waste, ITI will participate in the fourth U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) meeting 4 April 23 – 29 in Ottawa, Canada to develop international policies on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.
An important first step in reducing plastic waste is to identify the most problematic and harmful plastics, such as single-use plastics, which are known to leak into marine ecosystems. Single-use plastics include products, packaging or shipping materials made of plastic intended, designed, or placed on the market to involve a single, brief interaction with the user. The global information and communications technology (ICT) sector is making strides to curb single-use plastics through innovative products and packaging, prioritizing reusable, biodegradable, and recycled materials, but there is still much work to be done. As part of this effort, industry has proactively voluntarily committed to eliminate 75% of single-use plastic packaging by 2024.
To help achieve these shared sustainability goals, policies should:
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1. Integrate scientific evidence and risk-based approaches to identify and prioritize harmful plastics;
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2. Encourage collaboration among stakeholders across global supply chains to develop and implement effective plastic waste reduction strategies;
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3. Invest in research and development to foster innovative alternatives to single-use plastics, focusing on reusable, biodegradable, and recycled materials for ICT products and packaging;
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4. Ensure that regulations strike a balance between environmental goals and product safety considerations, including factors like flammability; and
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5. Establish flexible regulatory frameworks that can adapt to evolving scientific knowledge and technological advancements.
Promote Increased Circularity
Circularity aims to create lasting products that are durable, reusable, repairable, and recyclable throughout their lifecycle. With this mindset, reducing plastic pollution becomes part of a product's design rather than an afterthought.
The tech industry plays a central role in global innovation, supply chains, and technological advancement, granting it a unique position to drive discussions on plastic waste reduction and advocate for international policies conducive to waste reduction and mitigation objectives. Many ITI member companies have voluntarily committed to executing circular design concepts, such as reducing plastic packaging materials and communicating resin types and locations in the product across the sector to allow for easier separation of plastics for circularity. Furthermore, many organizations within the global ICT sector have established recycling and reuse programs for end-of-life products in which plastics in the product are broken down, combined with ocean-bound plastic, and reconstituted into resins used in new products.
To help promote effective circularity, it is essential to consider the different uses and functions of plastic products across product lines, sectors, economies, and countries.
Therefore, policies should:
- 1. Promote the integration of circularity principles to ensure that products are designed to be durable, reusable, repairable, and recyclable throughout their lifecycle. This can be achieved by incentivizing manufacturers to adopt circular design concepts and incorporate environmentally friendly materials;
- 2. Encourage collaboration between policymakers and industry stakeholders to develop international policies that promote waste reduction and mitigation objectives;
- 3. Support initiatives that promote the use of recycled materials, including ocean-bound plastic, in the manufacturing process to reduce the demand for virgin plastics and promote circularity; and
- 4. Adopt targeted measures that address specific environmental concerns while allowing for flexibility across different product lines, sectors, and geographic regions.
The ICT sector’s commitment to a more sustainable future is reflected in the voluntary actions and voluntary consensus standards companies are initiating to promote circularity and reduced plastic reliance, the growing recognition of sustainability's importance among consumers of ICT products, and the sector's reputation as a hub for sustainable product innovation. The tech industry has a responsibility to ensure a more sustainable future and stands ready to partner with government and key stakeholders to implement bold, creative, and innovative solutions that allow sustainable innovation to thrive globally.