For many firms the first step is to report how much plastic their business uses. The research found that more than half of consumer goods companies do not publish any data on plastic, even where it is a significant environmental impact with serious cost implications for the business. This is where the Plastic Disclosure Project comes in. It is hoping to replicate the success of the CDP on carbon by making plastic use and disposal a mainstream performance indicator reported by companies. Disclosure will help drive effective measurement and management of plastic, reducing its impacts and revealing the potential of sustainable design and manufacturing.

As with any innovative, ground-breaking research, there are limitations. Plastic has many environmental benefits, for instance, in packaging it helps prevent food waste, and when used to make car parts its low weight reduce carbon and air pollution from road vehicles. But it was beyond the scope of the research to quantify the vast range of these benefits by comparing plastic to alternative materials.

On the other side of the equation, while the upstream impacts of producing plastic feedstock are accounted for, it was not possible to include the manufacturing stage where plastic is used to make products because of the diversity of activities in the consumer goods sector. We also need much greater scientific research on the impacts of plastic in the ocean.

None of this should detract from the message of the research. We need to use plastic in an environmentally sustainable way, rather than as a disposable material. We need to treat plastic as a valuable resource which is kept in use, benefiting us all, rather than being wasted and letting nature pick up the bill.

James joined Trucost as Research Editor in December 2013. He is responsible for editing Trucost’s public and client research reports, as well as promoting the importance of natural capital valuation in the marketplace. James has over 13 years of experience writing about corporate sustainability as a journalist for ENDS Report, the UK environment business magazine. Before that he worked as an environmental policy adviser for the Confederation of British Industry. James graduated from the University of Strathclyde with a degree in politics. This article was republished with permission from Trucost.