PANEL 2: The Sustainable Development Goals – Is there a business case? - Ricardo Barra, Dean, University on Conception, Chile

1. SDGs and Chemicals: Can
we achieve sustainability?
Dr. Ricardo Barra
Faculty of Environmental Sciences & EULA-Chile Centre
University of Concepcion
Chile
ricbarra@udec.cl

2. Latin America Facts and Figures
19,2 milllion km²

3. GEO 5 Messages
• Extensive but incomplete body of scientific evidence on
the impacts of chemicals on humans and the environment
• Increasing chemical production shifting from developed to
developing countries
• Sound management of chemicals and waste is a key
crosscutting issue
• Global chemical pollution a serious threat to sustainable
development and livelihoods
• Emerging issues (electronic waste, EDCs, plastics in the
environment, open burning of wastes, nanomaterials etc)
• Increase on the global burden of diseases atributed to
chemical exposure

6. The Challenge is Huge……

7. The development of Sustainable
Chemistry in the GRULAC region is at
least weak
Some elements that explains this situation:
• Lack of qualified human resources for addressing
sustainable chemistry in an integral way.
• Lack of University courses in the field (i.e training of
Chemist and Engineers) that may help to raise the
importance of the issue.
• Lack of communication between the scientific
community, the industry and governmental sectors.

8. Chemicals
Driver Chemicals in the sector (data from 2014)

9. Plastics Waste in Latin American
Countries
Country Waste Generation per person (kg/Inh./year) % plastic waste (weight) References
Argentina 0.85 14 Instituto de Ingeniería Sanitaria (2011),
Secretaria de Desarrollo Sustentable de la
Nación (2012)
Bolivia 0.43 10 Gutiérrez (2009)
Brasil 1.04 13.5 University of Leeds et al. (2014), IPEA (2012)
Chile 1.05 9.4-11 Ministerio del Medio Ambiente (2011)
Costa Rica 0.88 9 Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (2013),
University of Leeds et al. (2014)
México 0.85 12.8 SEMARNAT (2013)
Panama 0.81 14 Vallester (2010), Autoridad Nacional del
Ambiente (2007)
Paraguay 1.04 7-10.2 OPS y OMS (2011)
Perú 0.61 9.48 Viceministerio de gestión ambiental (2012)
Uruguay 1.03 12.6-13.9 Themelis y Diaz Barriga (2012), Acurio et al.
(1998), University of Leeds et al. (2014)
Venezuela 0.85 7.6-20 Acuña y Valera (2008), University of Leeds et al.
(2014)
Vásquez Morillas et al, 2016

10. PCBs in beached pellet plastics (ng g-1
pellet)

11. Reported Plastics Debris in latin
america (10 years ago…)

12. Innovation opportunities
• There are many disruptive solutions to try to serve the
many uses of plastics
• Multiple levels of investment required, including fully
equipped material innovation labs, infrastructure and
pilot manufacturing facilities
• Fiscal and policy incentives needed from government
• All stakeholders, production to consumption, must be
part of the solution

13. Need Innovation and Reorientation
- Review economic models and truer assessment of costs of the status
quo (tendency to focus on costs of change for industry as opposed to
benefits for the consumer)
- Reassessment of habits and attitudes surrounding plastic (particular as
relates to the current culture of convenience)
- Re-examination of all major global governance instruments to leverage
resources and cooperation and see where plastics may fit into their
mandate and actions (eg Basel, Stockholm, Climate, waters governance
instruments)
- Re-examination of the mandates and practices of global funding bodies
and development banks to support upstream solutions vs end-of-pipe ,
ever growing waste infrastructure
- Recognize the role of Private-public-partnerships for R&D, business
accelerators, innovation contests in helping to find marketable
alternatives.
NEED MATERIAL INNOVATIONS TO MOVE US CLOSER TO A CIRCULAR ECONOMY