Abstract

The results of the research conducted to understand sustainability in the plastics industry, initiated with the membership of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). are presented. The implications of sustainability to the plastics industry are discussed. An online survey was created with a set of 27 questions including demographics. The survey was distributed to the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) membership via an emails. When asked about the organization-wide definition of sustainability, 45% of the senior managers believed sustainability refers to addressing issues from a long term perspective. When asked who is responsible for addressing sustainability issues, most of the senior managers of private, public, or government organizations believed that each business unit in their company has responsibility. From the survey, a majority of the companies in the size range of 500 MM+ are focusing on improving efficiency on energy consumption, whereas a majority of the companies in the ~10 MM range are focusing on reducing waste.

Department(s)

Economics

Keywords and Phrases

Business units; Government organizations; Improving efficiency; Long-term perspective; Online surveys; Reducing waste; Senior managers; Size ranges; Sustainability issues, Energy utilization; Management; Managers; Plastic products; Plastics industry, Surveys

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0091-9578

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Final Version

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2012 Wiley-Blackwell, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Mar 2012

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Included in

Economics Commons

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