The environmental and health impacts of plastic pollution are widely acknowledged. However, plastic is still perceived as an economic development ally. The Business Club has looked into the hidden costs of plastic and the inclusion of plastic pollution issues in companies’ operating tools.
The Club met twice in 2022. The first was on 9 June 2022, with presentations by Dimitri de Andolenko (Société des bains de Mer) and Pierre Scemama (Ifremer) on the issues of CSR and ecological accounting. And a second time on 8 November 2022, with presentations by Giorgio Bagordo (WWF Italy) and Mateo Cordier (University of Versailles Saint-Quentin) on the costs of plastic pollution.
These presentations have given rise to a fact sheet entitled “Economic insights into plastic pollution”. This is an opportunity to address the issue of the real cost of plastic, which is said to be 10 times higher than the market price. This difference is explained by the fact that the cost of plastic is correlated to the cost of oil, and therefore does not take into account the environmental, social and economic impacts generated.
CSR and environmental compatibility
In order to bring this issue back to the heart of the company, a number of tools are being explored: corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ecological accounting. These tools enable environmental issues to be taken into account, by including production, use and end-of-life costs. These tools represent a step forward, but they are not yet widespread and do not necessarily take into account planetary limits, etc.
The costs of plastic pollution
Finally, the Club looked at the thorny issue of the cost of plastic pollution: between investment in preventive measures and investment in curative and palliative measures. Preventive measures involve encouraging reduction at source, reuse and recycling. Curative and palliative measures are designed to clean up the environment and fund medical services for the damage caused by plastic pollution. The investments will be substantial, but financing curative and palliative measures alone would represent costs that would be difficult to sustain over the long term.
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