12/18
BLOG: PBPC Addressed U.N. Climate Change Conference
By: Jessica Bowman, PBPC Executive Director
As officials from governments and NGOs around the world gathered in Madrid this month for the UN Climate Change Conference – COP25 – The Plant Based Products Council played a key role in the debate, despite just formally launching earlier this year.
As the Executive Director of PBPC, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to represent our organization on this global stage examining how businesses are driving shifts toward greater sustainability and positive impacts on greenhouse gas emissions, soil health, water quality and municipal waste. Specifically, I outlined how business-backed organizations like the PBPC are working to guide the global economy toward more sustainable and responsible consumer products and packaging through greater use of renewable, biobased materials.
I highlighted that the core of PBPC’s mission is the understanding that the status quo, as it relates to conventional plastics in products and packaging, is simply untenable. At PBPC, we believe that sustainable, biobased products and materials present significant opportunities for environmental improvement across the lifecycle, allowing us to help tackle some of the environmental challenges that we face today, including climate change. It’s been estimated that over 60% of the plastics used for packaging purposes today could be replaced by bioplastics. In the months and years ahead, our organization and its members aim to play a key role in advancing the shift to more sustainable products that meet industry and consumer needs without significantly impacting the environment.
At the event, I was encouraged by the many discussions from representatives across the world and across the value chain regarding the need to move to a more circular economy, along with the potential for such a transition to help address significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
Learn more about the environmental benefits, consumer trends and key facts about the circular bioeconomy.
Since the council’s launch in January 2019, the PBPC has already grown to more than 60 corporate members comprised of businesses large and small, from across the United States, who are committed to advancing the bioeconomy. PBPC members come from all links in the plant-based product supply chain: feedstock suppliers, polymer manufacturers, product manufacturers, companies addressing their packaging sustainability, waste management companies and consultancies focused on waste diversion, bioeconomy and sustainable development.