Corporations and plastic pollution: Trends in reporting
Research on pathways to reducing plastic pollution often concludes that greater action is needed by the private sector. Yet the private sector is not a monolithic or homogeneous entity. We compiled a novel library of 2,317 corporate reports from the world's 200 largest companies, by revenue, ov...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Sustainable Futures |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666188821000204 |
| _version_ | 1819177691065090048 |
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| author | Robert Blasiak Elin Leander Jean-Baptiste Jouffray John Virdin |
| author_facet | Robert Blasiak Elin Leander Jean-Baptiste Jouffray John Virdin |
| author_sort | Robert Blasiak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Research on pathways to reducing plastic pollution often concludes that greater action is needed by the private sector. Yet the private sector is not a monolithic or homogeneous entity. We compiled a novel library of 2,317 corporate reports from the world's 200 largest companies, by revenue, over a ten-year period (2010–2019) and used text mining tools to identify pronounced regional and sectoral variability in the extent to which plastic waste and pollution is of material importance to corporate operations. The results show a dominant focus on recycling, with far less attention to the other stages of the life cycle of plastic. While green clubs have emerged in recent years to mobilize voluntary actions by companies seeking to position themselves as leaders in this context, we see regional and sectoral gaps in green club membership, as well as a tendency for members to be those companies that already had a history of reporting on plastics issues. This analysis provides a starting point for a more nuanced consideration of the private sector's role in addressing plastic pollution, and suggests sectors and regions for prioritization by policymakers and civil society actors seeking to broaden the range of committed corporate actors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T21:30:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8333601edc3e41c0b4cab97e9c11103f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-1888 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T21:30:40Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sustainable Futures |
| spelling | doaj.art-8333601edc3e41c0b4cab97e9c11103f2022-12-21T18:11:55ZengElsevierSustainable Futures2666-18882021-01-013100061Corporations and plastic pollution: Trends in reportingRobert Blasiak0Elin Leander1Jean-Baptiste Jouffray2John Virdin3Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Kräftriket 2B, 114 18 Stockholm, Sweden; Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Corresponding author at: Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Kräftriket 2B, 114 18 Stockholm, Sweden.Stockholm Environment Institute, Linnégatan 87D, 115 23 Stockholm, SwedenStockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Kräftriket 2B, 114 18 Stockholm, SwedenDuke University Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Durham, NC, United StatesResearch on pathways to reducing plastic pollution often concludes that greater action is needed by the private sector. Yet the private sector is not a monolithic or homogeneous entity. We compiled a novel library of 2,317 corporate reports from the world's 200 largest companies, by revenue, over a ten-year period (2010–2019) and used text mining tools to identify pronounced regional and sectoral variability in the extent to which plastic waste and pollution is of material importance to corporate operations. The results show a dominant focus on recycling, with far less attention to the other stages of the life cycle of plastic. While green clubs have emerged in recent years to mobilize voluntary actions by companies seeking to position themselves as leaders in this context, we see regional and sectoral gaps in green club membership, as well as a tendency for members to be those companies that already had a history of reporting on plastics issues. This analysis provides a starting point for a more nuanced consideration of the private sector's role in addressing plastic pollution, and suggests sectors and regions for prioritization by policymakers and civil society actors seeking to broaden the range of committed corporate actors.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666188821000204Plastic wasteGreen clubsCircular economyContent analysisText mining |
| spellingShingle | Robert Blasiak Elin Leander Jean-Baptiste Jouffray John Virdin Corporations and plastic pollution: Trends in reporting Sustainable Futures Plastic waste Green clubs Circular economy Content analysis Text mining |
| title | Corporations and plastic pollution: Trends in reporting |
| title_full | Corporations and plastic pollution: Trends in reporting |
| title_fullStr | Corporations and plastic pollution: Trends in reporting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Corporations and plastic pollution: Trends in reporting |
| title_short | Corporations and plastic pollution: Trends in reporting |
| title_sort | corporations and plastic pollution trends in reporting |
| topic | Plastic waste Green clubs Circular economy Content analysis Text mining |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666188821000204 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT robertblasiak corporationsandplasticpollutiontrendsinreporting AT elinleander corporationsandplasticpollutiontrendsinreporting AT jeanbaptistejouffray corporationsandplasticpollutiontrendsinreporting AT johnvirdin corporationsandplasticpollutiontrendsinreporting |