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Sustainable Plastics

Recommendations to Automakers

The best examples from the auto sector show that automakers have the capacity to design for environmentally sound plastics. Except for Toyota, however, progress on managing the environmental sustainability of plastics appears to be happening in a piecemeal fashion. If the automakers are to make significant progress toward safer, cleaner plastics they must:

1. Commit to achieving sustainable plastics at the global level:
The automakers are failing to commit to the same level of sustainable plastics performance in the U.S. as in Japan and Europe. This is especially true of the American-based automakers, whose reporting of progress toward sustainable plastics is not on par with the Japanese firms. Automakers need to commit to achieving sustainable plastics at the global level, not only in nations where change is legislated.

2. Set measurable goals and report on progress globally:
If progress is to be made, automakers must set goals for which they can be held accountable. Progress must be reported on a regional or national basis, as well as globally, and include quantitative as well as qualitative data on progress toward specific goals and objectives, including:

eliminating the use of PVC plastic,
reducing toxicity of plastics across their life cycle,
using renewable resources in making or substituting for plastics,
reusing of plastic products,
designing plastic products for recyclability,
using post-consumer recycled plastic, and
increasing recycling rates for plastic in end-of-life vehicles.

3. Transition away from incineration as a disposal option:
Incineration, with or without energy recovery, should be avoided as a method for achieving end-of-life vehicle recovery goals because it:

creates pollution with harmful health effects,
discourages recycling, and
eliminates the life cycle environmental benefits of recycling.

In reporting on end-of-life recycling and recovery efforts, automakers must stop mischaracterizing incineration as materials recycling or reuse when reporting on end-of-life recycling and recovery efforts. Reporting should be consistent with the EU Directive on End-of Life Vehicles, which explicitly defines reuse and recycling to exclude energy recovery.

4. Provide relevant sustainable plastics information on the web:
Given the commitments of all six automakers included in this report to provide environmental data to customers, shareholders, and the concerned public, the automakers need to do a much better job of providing relevant and easy-to-understand data on their webpages.

Environmental reports do not need to be, nor should they be, vast compendia of environmental data. However, relevant materials and data should be archived and easily located on corporate webpages. Similarly, the environmental reports for all of the corporate brands and subsidiaries should be available on one webpage.

Recommended Goals for the Auto Sector:

Achieving sustainable plastics will also entail setting generational goals. We recommend that automakers adopt the following quantitative goals for sustainable plastics:

By 2009, eliminate the use of PVC plastic in vehicles sold globally.
By 2010, design 95% of all plastic products to be either reusable or recyclable.
By 2015, use 50% reused plastic products, recycled plastics, or plastics made from renewable resources at the global level.
By 2020, use only plastics that are made without hazardous chemicals, are capable of being closedloop recycled and are manufactured from renewable raw materials.