Recognizing leaders who make plastics more sustainable

Plastics can be sustainable. In fact, you can make a pretty strong argument that plastics are a sustainable material. They save valuable resources, are recyclable, can be made from renewable feedstocks and can help mitigate climate change.

But when I see reports in other publications honoring individuals and companies for accomplishments in sustainability, it's often about phasing out plastics. Sometimes it's for replacing plastics with a ridiculous alternative that doesn't make sense at all.

For an obvious example, how about replacing plasticware on airlines with heavier metal products, with the excuse that plastic is hard to recycle or may end up as ocean plastic. Really?

Our Nov. 20 special report, on Notable Leaders in Sustainability, isn't going to honor those kinds of decisions. We're fine with strategies that reduce, reuse and recycle plastics, though, and for those doing important research and engineering to improve plastic products to make them more sustainable.

This inaugural class will be highly selective. Members will be selected by Plastics News editors. To qualify for the list, nominees must serve in a senior leadership role or lead sustainability initiatives at an organization and make a measurable impact on the environment through their efforts. They must demonstrate leadership through involvement in professional organizations and civic and community initiatives.

We feel that there has never been a more appropriate time to recognize the individuals and organizations that are driving progress toward sustainability. Global challenges related to the environment, including climate change and pollution, are growing more urgent every day.

Prioritizing environmental goals is good for business, and I hope it will be good for plastics careers, too. I was around in the 1990s, when it seemed to me that being put in charge of a company recycling operation effectively derailed some careers. The real opportunities were in millions of pounds of virgin resin, not gaylords of recycled material.

Now I believe having responsibility for sustainability is going to be critical for future leadership. I'm looking forward to hearing more from our first group of honorees: their education, credentials and experiences; the challenges they're facing today; and what they've learned from their successes and failures.

Please submit nominations to www.plasticsnews.com/NotableNominations by Nov. 1. Contact me or Special Projects Editor Jordan Vitick with questions.

Don Loepp is the editor of Plastics News and author of the Plastics Blog.