Sustainable Plastics - September/October 2020 - 15

opinion
they set initially, once the tax is
implemented, there will be an
almost irresistible temptation to
increase it to raise more money.
This is not going away.
Action on this issue has
also now cemented itself
with Boards of Directors and
shareholders. Environmental,
Social and Governance (ESG)
has never been higher on investors' agenda, as this is now
often the main lens through
which resilience, adaptability
and the ability to seize opportunity is measured. Never
have these qualities proved
more important than now.
Along with climate change,
cyber security and supply
chain resilience, plastics and
packaging is still one of the
top subjects on which investors are focusing.
EPR is the next piece in the
economic jigsaw. The higher
the recycling rates, the more
industry will pay itself, and the
less waste will end up in our
black bins. Have no doubt that
the money that industry will pay
to local authorities to perform
recycling services will soon be
taken out of councils' grants
by the Treasury. Unusually, this
means that both local and national government have an interest in maximising the contribution of industry.
Yet, in my view, not all will
be exactly the same. There
are two areas where the crisis
may cause some change in attitudes.
The first is plastic reduction.
Last year, businesses were be-

Felix
Gummer

ing asked to sign up to plastic
reduction targets and, frankly,
many put pen to paper without
knowing how they would meet
them, knowing that not to do
so would undermine their reputation. Today's huge focus on
plastic PPE, and the safe handling and preservation of food,
will change the debate so that
more recognise the true value
of plastic, if handled in the appropriate manner throughout
its lifecycle. However, this will
increase demands for the removal of unnecessary material
and an insistence on the necessity of recycling.
The second area is DRS. It
would be foolish for businesses not to engage with and plan
for DRS, probably first in Scotland - as they are pressing on
with their consultations and
reform - and then across the
UK. However, the minimum £1
billion start-up cost and similar annual running cost may
well give the UK Government
pause for thought. This Conservative administration may,
in the end, baulk at this cost
to industry, not least because
a DRS system would not benefit the Exchequer in any way,
shape or form.
The Covid-19 outbreak has
caused the largest disruption
to business in the UK since
the Second World War. All
companies, even those doing
well, have had to pivot, adapt
and change the way they have
had to operate to protect their
employees, their customers,
and even their business. It has
been necessary for all of us to
think tactically over the last few
months, trying to do everything
we can in a constantly changing landscape.
But as we begin to define our
modified business models in our
recovery, we cannot afford to
forget the key sustainability, environmental and social impact
issues that will come to define
us, and any organisation that
assumes otherwise will be ultimately successful at their peril.

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Felix Gummer is director at
Sancroft, an international sustainability consultancy, which
works with some of the world's
leading companies to improve
their environment, ethical and
social impact
September/October 2020

http://www.pocan.de http://www.durethan.de

Sustainable Plastics - September/October 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Plastics - September/October 2020