Regional Dialogue Series by SEA circular Perceptions on plastic waste: A dialogue on the findings of a regional study and the role of businesses in accelerating circularity

Date

Friday, 11^th November 2022, from 09:00 to 10:30 hrs. (GMT+7, Thailand Time)

Overview:

South-East Asia is at the heart of this marine plastic pollution challenge. Six of the top 20 estimated sources of plastic marine debris are from South-East Asian countries. If South-East Asia were thought of as one country, it would represent the single biggest source of mismanaged plastic waste globally.

Policies and measures to tackle plastic waste are crucial for all countries in the region. However, the pace of policy intervention has been very slow due to inadequate awareness of consumers and businesses, and insufficient understanding of the potential points-of-entry for policy intervention. In this respect, SEA circular, in close collaboration with Food Industry Asia (FIA), has carried out a research survey on Perception on Plastic Waste: Insights, interventions and Incentives to Action from Businesses and Consumers in Southeast-Asia.

This research aimed to increase understanding of business and consumer attitudes towards plastic waste.  The research explored human factors and organizational cultures affect the actions, especially consumers, business entities, policy makers and informal sector. Finally, the findings provide fundamental for creation of business-to-business and consumer-to-business platforms to set the conducive business environments that can help to scale up utilization of market-based instruments in plastic value chain.

This regional dialogue will serve as a platform to disseminate the key knowledge and lessons gained from the research, and the implications to future policies and strategies that will benefit to sustainable practices of plastic waste management. The dialogue will also feature an engaging panel session amongst key stakeholders representing the industry and consumers to exchange views and insights on the role of businesses in advancing circularity, approaches to handhold SMEs in the journey and how the sector should prepare and support the impending international legal instrument on plastic pollution.

Key Objectives:

The regional dialogue aims to:

• Share information from the research on perspectives of consumers and businesses in handling plastic waste;
• Facilitate a dialogue among key stakeholders representing the industry and consumers, on how to foster circularity in the value chain;
• Exchange views and capture expectations of businesses – both large enterprises and SMEs when it comes to the international legal instrument on plastic pollution.

Expected Key Takeaways:

• Key research findings on consumers’ attitudes and positive behaviors that can guide creation of business-consumer solutions for plastics waste management.
• Discovery of current beliefs and interests of business sector take leading role in combating plastics waste;
• Understanding of enablers and barriers that influence small and medium businesses to actively contribute to circularity in the plastic value chain.   

Key Questions for Panel Discussion and Open Forum:

The panelists’ discussions will be guided by three key questions as follow:

• What should businesses do to improve current state around plastic circularity?
• How can large businesses handhold SMEs in this journey?
• How do the businesses look at the impending international legal instrument on plastic pollution? What should they be ready for it?
• Importance of financing and the business case for a sustainable approach among SMEs

Target Audiences:

The targeted audience who will participate in the regional dialogue are from

• SMEs
• Business enterprises
• Business / industry associations
• Local governments and government agencies  
• Universities / researchers
• Research institutes
• CSOs / NGOs
• Community organizations / municipalities