2022: The Turning Point on Plastic Pollution

One month ago today we welcomed hundreds of changemakers to Footprint’s fourth annual Sustainability Summit at Footprint Center in Phoenix. The packed agenda brought our customers from more than 95 different companies together with world-renowned scientists, health experts, research gurus, sustainability investors, entrepreneurs, problem solvers and even celebrities, focused on identifying issues and discussing solutions to our planet’s biggest sustainability challenges.

We believe 2022 is a turning point in embracing what it takes to be sustainable as new regulations, consumer habits and commitments by corporations to address climate-related behavior, are now front and center on stakeholder agendas. Covid-19 accelerated the urgency around human health and planet protection. Just last week, delegates from 175 nations came together and pledged to start negotiating a world-first global treaty that would restrict the explosive growth of plastic pollution.

We chose our 2022 Summit theme “Champions of Change,” because plastic pollution is a global problem that requires us to evolve and rethink entire sectors, supply chains and products and inspire new consumer habits for the better. It’ll take the entire ecosystem – companies, consumers, NGOs and governments – working together to create the flywheel of progress we need to protect the planet for our children and generations beyond.

Renowned speaker and author Andrew Winston, who influenced me with his book Green to Gold early in my career at Intel, moderated the day through the lens of his latest book Net Positive, written with the former CEO of Unilever Paul Polman. The book posits that there are five criteria making a company net positive, including operating for the long-term benefit of business and society, creating positive returns for all stakeholders, and driving shareholder value as a result, not a goal. With this backdrop, Andrew drove healthy dialogue through panels and fireside chats about sustainability and what it takes to become of champion of change.

Throughout the day several themes arose:

1. Businesses must lead with purpose and will play a central role in solving the dual problems of climate change and plastic pollution.

“We must profit from solving the world’s problems not creating them,” Andrew said during his keynote as he outlined the external drivers pushing businesses toward cause while making the case for long-term value creation from socially responsible business practices.

As he noted, “90% of Gen Z believe companies have an obligation to solve environmental problems, and 64% won’t take a job if the company doesn’t have strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) and values.”

“Only businesses have the money to fill the gap,” he said, and pushed attendees to change how we measure ROI and make investment decisions, and focus on more than cash back to encompass people, planet and profit.

Among other examples, he cited companies like Microsoft, which has pledged to not only become carbon neutral, but has also promised to remove all emissions created since its founding in 1975.

Marisa Drew, formerly chief sustainability officer at Credit Suisse and now Standard Chartered, and Jonathan Silver, senior advisor at Guggenheim Partners and long-time clean energy investor, offered attendees insights into enormous potential for investors to lead in solving problems through socially responsible investing. Both panelists underscored the importance of emissions reductions for a habitable planet, and how businesses can lead.

“The investment opportunity is borne out of the need,” Marisa said. “There’s not enough government money in the world to bridge the gap. The private sector can deploy capital and move quickly.”

“Everything is about the clean economy,” Jonathan noted. “Every company on the planet will need to be better.”

2. Consumer expectations are changing, and companies need to change, too.

Customers are waking up, demanding more from businesses. Research continues to show that customers are willing to spend more money to support companies that offer sustainable alternatives and align with their values. New data shared for the first time at the Footprint Sustainability Summit by Marie Stafford of Wunderman Thompson Intelligence, measured consumers’ emotional response to plastic packaging and ranked “guilty,” “annoyed” and “frustrated” as the top three words chosen when they didn’t have other options. And consumers agreed (78%) that companies and brands aren’t doing enough to protect our planet. ?

The impact of consumer expectations is already being felt in the world of sports with representatives from Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia Union and Oak View Group (Climate Pledge Arena) sharing examples of how big venues are playing their part. From zero waste initiatives to plant-based food and serving containers in concessions to re-thinking energy, compost and even rainwater use, these leaders are rapidly becoming centers of gravity for change toward more sustainable sports and entertainment and positively impacting their communities.

“The sports industry won’t exist in 100 years if we don’t solve climate change,” said Dan Griffis, president of global partnerships at Oak View Group.

3. Transparency will be mandated.

For companies, transparency will be mandated. Whether it’s new ways of measuring carbon impact, dealing with offsets or being clear with consumers about what they’re buying, companies should be taking steps now to ensure their operations are transparent about sustainability at every step and they have the processes in place to measure progress.

?“Companies have made claims, regulators heard that, and said that’s a financial disclosure,” said Kentaro Kawamori, Co-founder and CEO of Persefoni.

4. Companies must move faster.

Climate change is the greatest threat to our health, planet and the continued existence of our species. Business as usual isn’t good enough, and companies need to increase their speed and scale. It’s not optional. Andrew Winston was clear on this point. “We must go bigger and much faster. It’s not enough to be less bad.”

We already have many of the solutions we need to solve the plastic crisis with alternative materials like those we design at Footprint and they can be found in store aisles and quick-service restaurants today.

One of the reasons we do this annual summit is to bring together the whole ecosystem involved in driving change toward a healthier planet. We’re so proud of the work showcased by our customers, the discussions and relationships formed, and we look forward to continued momentum – and attracting more Champions of Change!?