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Plastics Industry: Rising to the Challenges of the Future
This article outlines how the plastics industry is taking steps to safeguard the world of the future. It has been written to support the chat with Koos van Haasteren on 16 May 2008.
We are living in a world with an increasing population and productivity, but with diminishing resources. Representing as we do a versatile and energy-efficient material, PlasticsEurope is increasing its efforts to educate and inform people about why plastics is the material of the future. Packaging and insulation are two good examples where plastics’ unique characteristics are put to effective use to save energy and resources.
FuturEnergia is one example of how the plastics industry is rising to the challenges of the future. The project, organised together with European Schoolnet, highlights important energy challenges facing society and gives students the opportunity to understand the issues, form their own opinions and participate in the debate.
PlasticsEurope also commissioned the Futurologist Ray Hammond (who has himself hosted a previous chat on FuturEnergia) to write a report about the challenges the world will face in 2030. In response to the report from Ray Hammond, the industry organised three Industry Action Teams to identify solutions the plastics industry can provide to the important challenges that lie ahead.
The members of the Industry Action Teams are composed of the industry’s best young engineers. They have been divided into three different teams, each working on highly important issues. The first team work with Climate Protection & Energy Efficiency, the second with Consumer Protection and the third with Resource Efficiency. The Industry Action Teams are working intensively on their ideas as we speak, and will report back in late May.
PlasticsEurope also welcomes ideas from students that can help the Action Teams in their work. These suggestions can be added to the FuturEnergia blog.
Rising to the challenges of the future also means listening to future generations. Through the “Energy is our Future” project, PlasticsEurope and the plastics industry strives to make sure their voices are heard, and that is indeed one of the important elements that makes plastics the material of the future.
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