Certifications for sustainable plastics in the building and DIY industry

Abstract

Today’s society relies significantly on the use of plastics
of all kinds. While the material provides many benefits, plastic pollution
poses a heavy threat to the environment. To reduce the environmental impact of
plastics while still benefitting from their use, various certifications aim at
labelling different plastic products as sustainable. To ensure that those
certifications really label plastics that contribute to sustainable
development, it is important to analyse which labels are scientifically sound
and useful instruments to enhance environmental standards, and which might
contribute to greenwashing. However, a certification can only be as good as the
practical implication it has. The example of Berdal Rubber & Plastics BV, a
Dutch producer of plastic buckets and tubs, shows that a key challenge arises
from communicating the importance of adopting such certifications to business
customers, in their case, especially in the building and DIY industry. Hence,
this research tackled the following research question: How can the scientific
soundness of sustainable plastics certifications in the European building and
DIY industry be assessed and how can the importance of using such
certifications be successfully communicated to the buyers and end-users of
plastic products? To answer this research question, inductive research making
use of a mixed-methods approach has been conducted, in which Berdal served as a
case study. As a first step, this research developed an analysis framework for
certifications, then, it researched what a successful communication strategy
for certifications that includes said framework can look like. A major
challenge that has been identified is to change the sometimes still unfavourable
attitudes towards certifications and sustainability found within the building
and DIY industries. Additionally, the low understandability of certifications
limits their use, while being difficult to target by communication strategies.
However, communication on certifications and sustainability can be more
successful when it considers certain aspects. Especially the dialogue with
stakeholders and credibility through proactiveness are seen to be important.
Target group specific communication that focusses on personal relevance is
found to be another aspect to consider. Here, the role of the framework can be
to present information in a clear and detailed way, and to be an instrument to
point out the advantages a specific certification can have for the
communication’s receiver. For the specific situation of the case study of
Berdal, it has been found that setting up a reciprocal dialogue, especially
with their buyers, and emphasising the credibility of their message about certifications
by focussing on their reliability and standard setting can be beneficial.
Additionally, the focus of communication should lie on the personal benefits of
their stakeholders individually. The framework for Berdal as a plastics
producer can be used to transparently show why certain certifications have been
chosen or how they compare to others.