If plastic were a country, it would be the world’s fifth largest greenhouse gas emitter, surpassing all countries except China, the U.S., India and Russia.
It’s time to rethink how we design, make and use the things we need. From production to disposal, plastic emits greenhouse gases at every stage of its life cycle and negatively affects our natural environments as well as human health. Yet plastic is rarely specified in existing public national- and international-level health or climate change frameworks.
FHI 360’s work in this area is grounded in the recognition that reducing plastic pollution through circular economy models will curb environmental degradation, and in our commitment to helping prevent climate-related crises. Circular economy models will transform how plastics are produced, used and treated at their end-of-use by seeking to eliminate waste and pollution at every stage of the product life cycle, hence shifting the focus from extraction to regeneration.
FHI 360 is poised to focus on plastic pollution and the circular economy because of our successful track record in shaping national health agendas; securing the adoption of new policies, standards and guidelines; conducting social and behavior change (SBC) work; and generating evidence for government ministries, international aid organizations, nongovernmental agencies and civil society to develop impactful policies and high-quality interventions.
Our stakeholder coordination methods prioritize the inclusion of underrepresented and vulnerable groups in the policy consultation process, and our SBC approach uses a socioecological lens to view the complex interplay among individual, interpersonal, community and societal factors that affect behaviors. We offer a whole-of-society view on solving plastic pollution and advancing the circular economy.
