People are now all concerned by the environmental situation, and if countries around the world do not cooperate and take significant measures, the environmental issue cannot be solved. For this reason, in order to draw attention to this issue, not only are countries participating to environmental conferences, but on a smaller scale, companies are also implementing SDGs or ESG strategies.

What kind of awareness do people have and what actions are they taking regarding this environmental issue? Let’s take a close look at it and at what Mr. Hishinuma could observe.

There is a great variety of environmental problems, but all are urgent issues

Even though economies are flourishing, we are currently facing diverse environmental issues from global warming to water and marine pollution, but also to food security, energy and landfills issues. Even the disposal of radioactive materials is part of the environmental issue. What’s more, all of them are urgent matters to be dealt with. In fact, since 2021 in European countries it is forbidden to use packaging materials made of plastics.

Moreover, it is said that unless wealthy people from America and Europe, but also managers are aware of those issues and have their own way of thinking, it is difficult to have effective communication. But overseas countries are already considering it natural to think about environmental issues.

Mr. Hishinuma also feels that Europe is strongly aware of this environmental issue. For instance, even though rules for waste separation are really detailed and strict, people are still respecting them. So, people have a strong awareness of environmental issues and preservation.

However, this way of thinking is unique to developed countries. So, in reality, people in under-developed or developing countries are mainly focusing on the economic growth and on creating their own stable life rather than thinking about environment. With that in mind, it may be said that only wealthy countries have the room for thinking and taking actions to tackle those problems. However, according to some data, Japan is the country with the lowest environmental consciousness among the countries forming the G7.

Low environmental consciousness in Japan

As mentioned previously, there is a wide variety of topics about environmental issues and it can be difficult to discuss about them all. So here we will focus on plastic waste.

It is estimated that around 8 million tons of plastic waste end up in the world’s oceans every year. In order to prevent this situation, countries around the world are taking initiatives in order to solve the plastic problem.

Microplastics, one cause of concern, are small plastic pieces of less than 5mm but some of those pieces are so small that they cannot be seen with the naked eye. They are now found even in the North and South Poles. Recently, one of the main topics is about plastic bags that are carried out from rivers to oceans by the wind and rain. As ultraviolet and waves make those plastic bags brittle, they finally break into particles that cannot be decomposed by microorganisms. So microplastics are semi-permanently accumulating in oceans. Then, because we eat seafoods, microplastics are also accumulating in our bodies.

Unfortunately, according to some data, Japan is the country with the lowest environmental consciousness among the countries forming the G7 regarding the plastic problem.

According to Mr. Hishinuma, it seems that a paradigm shift has already occurred overseas. For instance, in Italy plastic molding manufacturers can now only process biodegradable plastics, so it is now impossible to request the same plastic products that were used until now. Even in business, plastic is becoming a problem.

At HISHINUMA TRADING, we are also working on developing plastic reduction projects.

Currently, efforts are made all over the world in order to reduce plastic waste.

［Examples of initiatives in different countries］

• England……Since October 2020 selling straws, stirrers or even cotton swabs made of plastics is prohibited.
• Italy……The production of cosmetics containing microplastics is prohibited.
• France……The use of single-use plastic packaging is prohibited.
• Taiwan……The use of plastic straws will be gradually prohibited by 2030. Providing plastic bags or single-use plastic packaging is prohibited in retail stores.
• Saudi Arabia……Importing or producing single-use plastic products containing polyethylene is prohibited.

In Japan, convenience stores, etc. are now charging for plastic bags, and straws made of paper are now being used in some coffee shops, etc. However, in comparison to the initiatives taken in different countries, we can probably say that the progress made towards plastic reduction is really slow in Japan.

At HISHINUMA TRADING, we are also working on developing plastic reduction projects. Through our business, we would like to contribute to the acceleration of plastic reduction.