Circular Economy: How to use AI to Create Pathways to a Sustainable Future

The world is facing an ever-increasing problem of post-consumer waste, especially plastic polymer waste. The existing municipal infrastructure across the world is being overwhelmed by the ever-increasing amount of waste being generated. In addition to these issues, the waste is getting leaked to the environment, and unfortunately, a significant amount of waste is being leaked to water bodies, which eventually leads to the deposition of microplastic through the food value chain. 

Owing to the urgency of action required for this problem, there are many initiatives being taken, including regulatory actions such as waste recycling targets announced by the EU or the introduction of measures such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and mandatory Deposit Return Schemes (DRS). There is also community action by NGOs and UN agencies, and interventions being planned by brand owners and companies involved in the polymer and packaging value chain. 

These interventions vary from design changes to either using reusable packaging, sustainable material or system-level interventions that ensure a higher recycling rate. We leverage AI to identify potential interventions by analyzing competitor activity, innovations, value chain measures being implemented by governments, changes in customer perception and buying behavior, the carbon footprint of the avenues and the potential recyclability of the material. 

What you will get from this panel:

• The ever-increasing problem of post-consumer waste, especially plastic polymer waste.
• The impact of this waste on the environment and human health.
• The different initiatives that are being taken to address this problem.
• The role of AI in identifying potential interventions.
• The value chain readiness framework approach to evaluating the merit of introducing these interventions.
• How AI is being used to empower this analysis.