The fifth version of PCX’s Plastic Pollution Reduction Standard was released today, reflecting Plastic Negative and Plastic Free Certifications, blockchain ledger, among other updates.
Last updated at the beginning of the year, the Plastic Credit Exchange (PCX) released the fifth version of its Plastic Pollution Reduction Standard (PPRS). The revisions reflected within the Standards include new certification levels, its blockchain-protected registry, requirements on types of plastics collected, and assessments for partner auditors, to name a few. PCX periodically updates its Standards to reflect evolving industry best practices, the availability of technology, and improvements in processes that improve social impact and behavior change within the community.
The key update to the PPRS is two certification levels: Plastic Negative and Plastic Free. With Plastic Neutrality, these new certifications are now defined as Plastic Reduction Goals (PRG), which constitutes the efforts organizations make to reduce plastic usage in their operations. These efforts can include replacing virgin materials with recycled content, ensuring packaging is recyclable and labeled properly for easy sorting, and opting for plastic alternative packaging to name a few. Compared to becoming certified Plastic Neutral, Plastic Negative is achieved when at least 200% of plastic footprints associated with products or brands are recovered and processed through recycling or other responsible offsetting activities. On the other hand, being certified Plastic Free is achieved when plastic is removed entirely from products or brands.
A second addition to the PPRS is the inclusion of PCX’s revamped credit registry, now hosted in a blockchain-protected ledger. This ledger was launched in partnership with Microsoft last month and will now also cover all Plastic Reduction Goals. The blockchain ledger ensures the transparency, security, and reliability of the plastic credits, as stated in the objectives of the PPRS.
Finally, the updated PPRS also breaks down the guidelines regarding types of plastics collected, collection point procedures, and the assessment of partner auditors. These stipulations provide further clarity into PCX’s operations and processes as it continues the fight against the plastic pollution crisis.
“With the ultimate goal of achieving no plastics in nature, we, at PCX, are cognizant of the progress and feedback in this space from many stakeholders. We continue to update and refine our Standards to align with global developments and our first-hand experience from our growing network of plastic aggregators and plastic credit implementation. One important update is introducing Plastic Reduction Goals for organizations to become Plastic-Free and Plastic Negative in addition to being Plastic Neutral. We see offsetting as part of a solution set to take responsibility for the recovery of plastics that might otherwise leak into the environment.” said Richard De Guzman, Standards and Compliance Manager.
View the latest Plastic Pollution Reduction Standard here.
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