Amazon’s substantial and growing use of plastic packaging exposes the company to increased finan- cial and reputational risk from millions of tons of plastic that end up in oceans and the environment, the proposal states, and the company lags its peers on disclosure and commitment to reducing plastic used for packaging. At the heart of the plastic pollution problem are single-use plastics like those generated by Amazon packaging, which makes up the largest component of ocean-bound plastic pollution. Amazon has not disclosed how much plastic it uses, but is believed to be one of the largest corporate users of flexible plastic packaging with heavy use of plastic e-com- merce mailers, which are generally not recycled. A recent report by the non-profit group Oceana es- timated that Amazon generated 599 million pounds of e-commerce plastic packaging in 2020. The com- pany said the report overestimated its plastics use but has declined to disclose its actual e-commerce plastic usage or the amount of plastic used in its 400+ private-label brand operations. “This vote supported by a majority of non-man- agement shareholders confirms that a wide range of mainstream investors are challenging Amazon to elevate the issue of plastic pollution and develop Buying Green Report (Cont’d from Page 1)
credible solutions to the global plastic pollution crisis now,” stated Conrad MacKerron, senior vice president at As You Sow. “Breaking the Plastic Wave,” a recent comprehen- sive report from Pew Charitable Trusts calls on consumer goods companies to cut plastic demand by one-third through elimination, reuse, refill, and new delivery systems — one of eight simultane- ous interventions required to reduce ocean plastic deposition 80 percent by 2040. The company lags retailing peers like Target Corp. and Walmart who have disclosed the amount of plastic they use and made public commitments to As You Sow to reduce the use of virgin plastic for packaging by 2025. An estimated 11 million metric tons of plastics leak into oceans annually and this figure is expect- ed to grow to 24 million metric tons by 2040 un- less a range of drastic remedial actions are taken. Plastic particles are permeating our air, food, and water. Ocean plastic pollution causes fatalities in more than 800 marine species from ingestion, en- tanglement, suffocation, or drowning. The scientific community has warned that plastic pollution may be nearing an irreversible tipping point. The plastic lifecycle imposes costs on the environment, climate, and human health that are at least 10 times higher than the market price of plastics.
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Flexo Market News June 20, 2022 3
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