Plastics
Water
Deforestation
April 2021
The UK’s Plastic Packaging Tax
The UK’s Plastic Packaging Tax, applying to domestic and imported packaging with less than 30% recycled plastic, came into force in April 2021. This was five months after toxic waste, including plastic pollution, became the fifth planetary boundary to be crossed. The EU Taxonomy then released a law specifying the nature and disclosure of environmentally friendly business activities, driving greater corporate transparency.
In February 2022, the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions Treaty was drafted, which aims to develop a global default framework to cover emerging activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction, including marine tourism, floating installations and seismic testing.
February 2022
Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions Treaty
The UN Environment Agency Plastics Accord was struck in March 2022.
The landmark resolution stands to create the world's first global plastic pollution treaty.
March 2022
UN Environment Agency Plastics Accord
The circular plastic economy is gaining momentum, assisted by legislative actions such as those above.
The flow of plastic through the value chain is creating environmental costs for companies and presenting a new risk to bottom lines.
The circular plastic economy is gaining momentum, assisted by legislative actions such as those above.
These developments provide tailwinds for companies aligned with the rise of recycling, biomaterials, eco-design and sharing, reuse and repair.
These developments provide tailwinds for companies aligned with the rise of recycling, biomaterials, eco-design and sharing, reuse and repair.
Global freshwater use has increased by a factor of six over the past 100 years and continues to grow at a rate of roughly 1% per year, as it has done since the 1980s. Water solutions are essential to addressing this trend, which is exacerbated by population growth, economic development and shifting consumption patterns. Solutions come in the form of pipes, pumps, and treatment facilities, while the benefits of natural systems in slowing stormwater flows, storing water and cleansing runoff are gaining greater recognition.
These natural systems complement traditional infrastructure and include wetlands, rainwater harvesting, grassed roofs and vegetated channels used to mitigate stormwater flows.
October 2022
China commits to preserve nature
November 2022
COP 27
In October 2022, China committed to preserving nature as part of its national development by pledging to eliminate heavy air and water pollution, and to control soil contamination.
This follows the crossing of the sixth planetary boundary – freshwater overuse – in April 2021.
At COP 27, water was included for the first time in the final declaration of a climate COP.
The summit’s Water and Climate Pavilion held a debate on financing climate resilience through investments in water.
Deforestation diminishes one of nature’s most important carbon sinks while also releasing significant amounts of carbon. There have been mounting calls for policy action on this front in recent years, and COP26 saw delegates endorse the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use. The pledge is aimed at conserving and restoring forests and facilitating policies that promote sustainable development. Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spoke at COP27 and vowed to crack down on illegal deforestation in the Amazon.
Such policy action makes it clear that businesses implicated in this destructive trend are likely to be penalised. In contrast, companies embedding sustainability into their supply chains, operational management and product designs will find these policies to be tailwinds.
August 2022
EU Regulation on deforestation-free products
October 2022
US FOREST Act
The EU set out specific due diligence rules for companies in August 2022, to help ensure that products sold in Europe do not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation anywhere in the world.
In the US, the FOREST Act, seeking to ban products linked to illegal deforestation and prosecute perpetrators, entered formal review in April 2022.
It was introduced to Congress in October.
