Susan Galer, Communications Director at SAP, explores ways to end plastic pollution with the Intelligent Enterprise. Data can be the key to zero plastic waste.
Reducing Plastic Waste
At SAP TechEd a roomful of creative developers brainstorm ideas to end plastic pollution with the Intelligent Enterprise. This session was a small part of a much larger sustainability initiative from SAP using data from across the supply chain to reduce and eliminate plastic waste. Called the “Plastics Cloud,” it’s already brought leading public and private organizations together with consumers to explore solutions.
“The data exists to solve the problem of plastic waste, but it’s trapped behind company firewalls,” said Stephen Jamieson, head of SAP Leonardo in the UK and Ireland. “Through informed partnerships with everyone impacted by this problem, we can use SAP Leonardo technology, including machine learning, to share real-time data that will address responsible consumption and sustainable goals while retaining trust and privacy compliance.”
SAP touches 77 percent of the world’s supply chain, so it made perfect sense for the company to join the UK Plastics Pact, which is managed by WRAP UK, a non-profit committed to create a more sustainable world.
“Keeping materials like plastics in a circular economy does the least amount of damage to the environment,” said Peter Maddox, director of WRAP UK. “In a world where resources are increasingly scarce and the population is growing, we need a circular economy to sustain the health of the planet.”
Following the Plastic Trail
Tracking plastics across the economy to achieve 100 percent recycling goals is a monumental task that’s entirely doable with advanced technology. Maddox should know because reporting on the sustainability progress of its member organizations is a major part of the ambitious WRAP UK mission.
“We envision a future where it’s possible to see where manufacturers are shipping plastic worldwide, when it’s purchased and by whom, where it’s collected at end of life, and if and how it’s recycled or reused,” said Maddox. “We are excited to work with SAP to see if we can access this data so our members can use it quickly to track and transform their sustainability performance. There’s a huge amount of enthusiasm and desire to come together and solve the systemic plastics problem.”
