Schneider Electric: Forging a Path Forward on Plastic

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

Despite involving the leaders of 200 nations, alongside their top negotiators, the talks concluded 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 contentious, with many nations and organisations believing no deal was better than one without teeth.

The Busan summit was expected to mark 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 whose economies are tied to sustained demand for fossil fuel-based materials.

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

However, it is understood that Saudi Arabia coordinated a push by oil-rich and plastic-producing nations 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 shares his thoughts on why, even without the treaty, we must accelerate progress towards circularity.

How does our approach to plastics need to change following Busan?

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.

What ways can we drive circularity in absence of a treaty?

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.

What ‘paradigm shift’ do you want to see in our approach to plastic?

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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