Koichi Hirata
Associate Advisor, Resource Plastics AssociationEcosys LOBBY Hirata OfficeTechnofa Co., Ltd. Technical Advisor/Lecturer(Formerly: Representative Director of Ecosys Consulting Co., Ltd.)Environmental Planner EROSDGs Integrator (GRI)Firefighter
“Safety First”…. Hung at manufacturing plants and construction sites with the green cross - it's a familiar sight. This "SAFETY-FIRST" was instilled into our company's DNA when I first became a business person. The company is one of the world's leading general chemical companies, and is a company with outstanding technical capabilities that provided the US military with a powerful defoliant called "Agent Orange" during the Vietnam War, and a company with a scar on the shin (reparations) after the war.
The imprinted on it is, "Safety takes precedence over everything! Don't be discouraged even if it brings huge profits. The product or service will cause problems and disadvantages to society, the environment, and stakeholders. If that is the case, we will needlessly play around with the balance between benefits and losses, accumulate self-affirmation, withdraw without seeking rationality, and immediately control the risk through management.”
The slogan of safety first is US Steel in the early 20th century. Therefore, it is said that the original protocol was the opposite of the mainstream protocol of "Production first, Quality second, Safety third". The DNA that has been imprinted in our job is not limited to such vague slogans, but rather the commitment of a general chemical company to quietly continue the post-war reparations with the U.S. military under “Agent Orange” (paying several times more responsibility than Promise). A promise to give out) dwells in it. How do you advocate the "safety first commitment" and how do you put it into practice?
I ended up with an irresponsible question, but since space is limited, I would like to save the details for a round-table discussion and talk about the sociality of plastics.
-- Quiet topic--
No, it's hard...! "By 2050, the amount of marine litter will exceed the amount of fish! Most of it is waste plastic!" First of all, we will eradicate it with a fee system (that is, a fine for using it) and a prohibition law.”
THE GLOBAL GOALS (SDGs), which is my specialty, are also talked about as if they were based on waste plastics and marine litter, as well as solar power generation and electric vehicles. Despite having 17 panels of goals and 169 targets... There is a lot of information on the Internet, but it is a mixed bag. Taking seriously the message of populist politics, it seems that it is the first way to save the world. The fate of the company will be decided! Now which one?”, interrupting the three-dimensional thinking of judgment and sipping on some kind of atonement with the self-satisfaction of participating in social justice.
Is plastic, which is the material and product of our business, really that bad?
The word plastic (English: plastic) is derived from the Greek word plaster, which makes a shape.It is a plastic material that can be pulled out in the shape of the mold by pouring it into a mold and applying pressure and heat. A convenient material created by our predecessors, it was commercialized for the first time in the late 19th century with celluloid as a product, followed by Bakelite (second commercialization) in the 20th century, and then economic development and the spread of civilization. After enjoying it, the third was polystyrene (the fourth was commercialized in 1938), and then all at once the types, applications, functions, and effects were expanded. The wide variety of resin types and nose drops (meaning a metaphorical expression! In other words, it means functional additives) is that while we pursued convenience and uniqueness, there were also difficult problems in processing and regeneration. , It created a backlash that Nani didn't even make this.
Exactly, right now, the hysterical curve of wanting to make something evil matches the current swing back, and the largest reverse rotation "plastic avoidance thinking" may be occurring. In the 21st century, we business people involved in plastics must use the right person in the right place and the right person in the right place, starting with the cyclical use of plastics and guiding the best mix of policies. We have to explore the sustainable efficacy for humankind without being treated as a bad person.
Once again, looking up the Greek roots of the word, plasticos seems to mean "to grow," "to create a new shape," and "to develop." We, the people involved in the 21st century, should use plastic as a weapon to provide the world with benefits that exceed the costs and burdens.
Products and services that utilize plastics will explain the balance of benefits and losses in a simple manner without imposing defects and disadvantages on society, the environment, and stakeholders, beyond the understanding of the consumer side. and to obtain satisfaction until they are convinced.” Yes, let’s carve SAFETY-FIRST.
That is our outlook.