Why we need to take action now
Our planet cannot support ‘business as usual’ The idea of nine planetary boundaries that define a ‘safe operating space’ for humanity was proposed more than a decade ago 4 . Breaching these thresholds will cause large-
scale and/or irreversible environmental change. PLFs directly impact the planetary boundary of ‘novel entities’ – which includes synthetic chemical waste – as well as that of ‘climate change’. According to recent analyses, both of these limits have already been breached.
While industry is working hard to rapidly reduce its carbon footprint, we are also seeing continued compound annual growth of consumer demand for essential household items, mobility solutions, and personal care products.
As the global population grows, the need for PLFs will only increase. This in turn will contribute to rises in material production and waste generation, which are already expected to double by 2050 5 .
Graphic credit: Azote for Stockholm Resilience Centre, based on analysis in Wang-Erlandsson et al 2022.
15
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog