Big business generally continues to be driven by "bottom line" considerations at the expense of more environmentally sustainable alternatives that are available today.
We continue to hear the pleas of prominent learned and sincerely concerned people around the world, that NOW is the time to act, and that we are rapidly approaching a tipping point, beyond which mankind would lose the ability to positively influence climate change.
We either need bold visionary action by major commercial/industrial players that have a snowballing effect, or we need government regulation to force the adoption of more sustainable options.
Sadly, probably the latter is the option most likely to have the necessary effect. Current market intelligence suggests that there's a major discrepancy between the "environmentally righteous" stance most consumer take when surveyed regarding purchasing preferences when presented with two options: a cheaper less environmentally sustainable one and a more sustainable one at a premium, compared with which they choose in real life. This reality is what's guiding the major brand owners and retailers.
The plastic material my company offers in NZ, is 100% plant based on an annually renewable resource. Its production results in the lowest GHG generation of any commercially available plastic material, but it does come at a modest premium compared with the petroleum based plastics it can replace. Everyone thinks it's a great idea, it's what we need, but we'll get around to saving the planet when we can afford to.
In my estimation, there was never a truer thing said than: "The biggest threat to the global environment is the belief that someone else will fix the problems."
