[News Terms] Beyond Plastic

Companies Continue ESG Management This Year
'Reducing Plastic Use' Urgent Issue to Address

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] Beyond Plastic refers to the efforts of companies and consumers who think about the environment and future generations by going beyond the use of plastic. It is a general term for companies developing plastic recycling business models and consumers practicing reducing plastic use.

Companies plan to continue operating with 'ESG (Environment, Social, Governance),' which signifies eco-friendliness, this year as well. According to the '2023 ESG Trends' report conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries on the 100 ESG practitioners among the top 500 companies by sales, commissioned to the polling agency Monoresearch on the 14th, 93.0% of respondents said they would maintain or increase the scale of ESG management compared to last year. Among E, S, and G, the most important issue was E (Environment) at 82.0%.

In particular, due to the impact of COVID-19 that occurred in January 2020, the use of disposable products such as plastic surged, making plastic environmental pollution an urgent issue to be resolved. In 2020, the use of disposable products including plastic increased significantly across all product sectors compared to the same period in 2019. According to the Ministry of Environment, as society shifted to non-face-to-face interactions, parcel delivery increased by 19.8%, food delivery by 75.1%, resulting in an increase of 14.6% in plastic waste and 11% in waste vinyl.

This phenomenon is not only in Korea but worldwide. In October 2021, the U.S. environmental organization Beyond Plastic released a report titled "Plastic Surpasses Coal as a Driver of Climate Change," announcing that "by 2030, plastic will have a greater impact on climate change than coal-fired power plants."

Plastic bottle waste. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Companies and consumers are considering ways to reduce plastic use and recycle. According to a December 2021 survey by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry targeting 303 Korean plastic manufacturing and usage companies on 'Corporate Awareness and Policy Tasks Regarding Plastic Waste Issues,' 85.1% of all responding companies answered that they should participate in solving plastic problems. In this regard, companies are considering recyclability of PET bottles from the production stage to increase recycling rates or changing the design of labels attached to PET bottles, or even introducing label-free PET bottles. Consumers actively recommend and practice plastic-free consumption by using hashtags like '#Yongginae' on Instagram, encouraging the use of tumblers instead of plastic disposable products.

Judith Enck, CEO of Beyond Plastic and former regional environmental protection director, pointed out that "Plastic is the new coal and a major concern of 'environmental justice.'" CEO Enck expressed concern, saying, "The scale of (plastic) emissions is enormous, but it is very worrying that almost no one in the government or industry talks about it."