How plastic impacts companies, investors, public health and the environment

Ahead of Earth Day on April 22, we're launching a miniseries of the ESG Insider podcast looking at plastic. We'll explore how plastic impacts human health and the environment, how companies and investors are approaching the topic, and what to expect from international plastic treaty negotiations starting April 23.

In today's episode, we hear about the health and environmental impacts of plastics from Dr. Philip Landrigan, Director of the Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good at Boston College. He was lead author of a major scientific study the Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health published in 2023.

We hear why recycling is only part of the solution to plastic pollution in an interview with Richard Wielechowski, Senior Investment Analyst in the Textiles Programme at Planet Tracker, a nonprofit think tank focused on sustainable finance.

And we hear how plastics are affecting oceans and contributing to climate change from Aarthi Ananthanarayanan, Director of the Climate and Plastics Initiative at Ocean Conservancy, an environmental advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. She calls for a broad rethink of the approach to the plastic challenge.

"We have to see it as an opportunity. We've done a lot of that work in the climate space already, but we haven't included plastics in the conversation yet," Aarthi says. "When we can break our minds out of the idea that we're on this inevitable trajectory with plastics, and instead we're planning for a future where what's good for investors is also good for our climate and our health and our ocean — there's a different range of goals and commitments you make, there's a different type of innovation that you have to be thinking about."

Listen to our second episode in this series titled "What's at stake in UN plastic pollution treaty talks" here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/what-s-at-stake-in-un-plastic-pollution-treaty-talks

Listen to our third episode in this miniseries titled "What companies are doing to address the plastic pollution problem" here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/what-companies-are-doing-to-address-the-plastic-pollution-problem

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.

Copyright ©2024 by S&P Global

DISCLAIMER

By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties.