17. Gabriel Thoumi (Responsible Alpha) on plastics and sustainability

I speak with Gabriel Thoumi of Responsible Alpha, a consultancy whose mission is to support businesses and communities in securing a low-carbon, sustainable, and equitable future. (1:24) Production and consumption of plastic (2:53) Plastic industry’s carbon budget (3:59) Reconciling fact that plastic is useful in our society and economy with the fact that it is damaging to the environment (8:35) What the plastic industry is doing to mitigate the plastic problem and the pressure companies feel to change their behavior (11:58) The role of investors (15:40) The role of governments (20:25) Ramification of projected increase in demand for plastic (25:43) New technologies (31:11) Circularity and points of intervention (36:51) Barriers to transitioning from linear to circular economy (40:28) How transitioning to circular economy creates opportunities (42:03) Short-term vs. long-term thinking