ITB Berlin News 2019 - Preview Edition

RESPONSIBLE TOURISM
15
PROCUREMENT
STRATEGIES CAN BE
PIVOTAL TO THE
WAY COMPANIES
PRODUCE THINGS
Dr Monika Griefahn
Senior Advisor Sustainability,
Costa Group
A TIDAL WAVE OF
PLASTIC - OCEAN
POLLUTION AND THE
U.N. SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Category: CSR Day
Date: March 8, 2019
Time: 2pm-2:45pm
Location: City Cube,
Auditorium A3
A TIDAL WAVE OF PLASTIC:
developing “cradle to cradle” thinking
With a dramatic increase in plastic pollution in our seas,
experts at the ITB Berlin Convention examine possible solutions
Dr Monika Griefahn was a founding member of Greenpeace
Germany and a former Minister of the Environment in this
country. She is currently Senior Advisor Sustainability, Costa
Group, which consists of AIDA, Costa and Costa Asia. We
asked her to tell us a little more about what we can expect
to hear at her presentation.
I will take part in a panel
discussion on the topic. In my
opinion, the plastic problem can
be approached in two ways: Try to
get the huge amounts of plastics,
which can be found in rivers and
oceans out of the water again. And
try to develop a production system
and material management which
will prevent waste in general – the
Cradle to Cradle design principle
will be the best way to do so.
How important is the plastic
problem compared to other issues
such as global warming?
The plastic problem is the result
of a manner of production not
suitable for the earth. It ignores
the limits of resources and the
waste of energy – as if we had
more than one earth. This implies
things as pollution or drain of land
resources – and contributes to
the current climate change. If we
come to a new way of production
with high quality upcycling and
a system of services instead of
ownerships at its core, this will
lead to a world without waste and
will very much contribute to the
fight against global warming.
In many parts of the world, there
is simply no garbage collection,
meaning people throw whatever
rubbish they have into the river or
the sea. How can this be stopped?
Given the Cradle to Cradle
thinking, solutions must be of a
big variety. In societies with well
operating political structures and
high technical standards waste
sorting might be a bridge solution.
In societies without those traits,
it might be a solution to design
products in a way that they can
be compost and be a biological
nutrient. We lose 3-10 times more
topsoil than we produce. You
can even think of useful waste:
If a garbage collection system
doesn’t exist and people throw
their packaging right in the streets
– why not produce it in a way it
decays rapidly and sets free some
flower seed which will green the
towns? It all stands and falls with
design and the chosen material of
production and products.
Given your background with
Greenpeace and as a Minister,
what should federal and local
governments be doing to remedy
the problem?
Looking to the administration
structures in Germany, first of all
they should take their function
as a role model seriously: Public
institutions are big buyers – their
procurement strategy can be
pivotal to the way companies
produce things. When I was
Minister for the Environment
back in the 1990s, we adopted
a corresponding procurement
strategy. Unfortunately, my
successors repulled this strategy.
In general, to deal with the given
situation of worldwide plastic
pollution, political entities first
should rigorously ask for the right
products, i.e. monomaterial like
nylon for packaging, which can
be easily recycled several times
and followed up with waste
sorting composting and reusing.
And politicians should demand
the help of their industries to
develop more intelligent products
and processes. Waste sorting or
recycling can be supported with
educational work or development
help for the right infrastructure,
which of course does not mean
waste incinerations plants
ITB BERLIN NEWS • Wednesday 27 th February 2019