Plastic and dollars: confronting the environmental impact of consumerism and banking technology

Written by Dave Wallace
26th April 2024

As I write this, it’s Earth Day 2024. It’s very early in the morning, but LinkedIn has already started filling up with posts to mark the occasion.

We must ensure that banking technology follows a more planet-friendly path than plastic

This year’s theme is ‘planet vs plastics’, with Earthday.org, the NGO behind Earth Day, demanding a 60% reduction in the production of all plastics by 2040 and advocating for widespread awareness of the health risks they pose.

I am a strong supporter of this movement. When I was a child, I lived in Fiji, which was a beautiful place for a ten-year-old. It felt like paradise to me. We used to spend most of our free time snorkelling on the magnificent virgin reefs that surround the islands. I vividly remember that there was no plastic pollution at all. The coral reefs were unspoiled by plastic water bottles, bags, or straws.

Now, 40 years later, you would be hard-pressed to go anywhere untainted by plastic.

Plastic’s impact goes beyond an aesthetic problem. It also hurts nature through entanglement, ingestion, and chemical pollution. The long-term effects of the latter are poorly understood, but plastics often contain harmful chemicals that can leach into the water and can be absorbed by marine organisms. Over time, these chemicals accumulate in the food chain, a process known as bioaccumulation, affecting not just individual species but entire ecosystems. They can even find their way into humans when we eat seafood.

So how in one generation have we got ourselves into a situation where very soon there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish?

Let’s start at the beginning.

In 1855, Alexander Parkes invented Parkesine (later known as celluloid), the first semi-synthetic plastic derived from cellulose. In 1907, Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite, the first fully synthetic plastic made from phenol and formaldehyde. Bakelite was revolutionary: durable, heat-resistant, and perfect for mass production. During the Second World War, plastic production soared due to wartime needs. But it wasn’t until the 1950s that production kicked up a gear, and plastics became an integral component of mass consumerisation.

Plastic is integral to our lives, touching almost every aspect.

Can you imagine a plastic-free world?

Plastic is essential to modern society. In many ways, it is a force for good, with whole societies developing and transforming because of its incredible properties. But like many things in life, its strengths are also its weaknesses. It is a primary driver of consumerism, with corporations profiting and creating shareholder value because of what it has enabled. This has come at a cost. It is tough to get rid of it, so nature is being devastated by plastic pollution.

Sure, there have been emergent trends, such as recycling and the ability to trade in plastic waste.

We recycle in our house, but as I read the packaging of our food, I am beginning to realise just how little plastic is truly recyclable. Only around 9% of all plastics ever produced have been recycled. Much of our plastic waste ends up in far-flung places worldwide, leading to catastrophic environmental degradation on an incredible scale.

According to Tony Worby, chief scientist for the Minderoo Foundation (which campaigns for plastic-free oceans), we are far from peak plastic. In fact, the forecasted growth in plastic is alarming, with projections indicating plastic waste is on track to almost triple by 2060.

So, the cynic in me sometimes wonders if recycling is a classic case of sand-throwing, and we’re all too busy blinking to see how little difference recycling makes. I urge you to read the packaging of the products you buy and see what it says. Sadly, you will realise just how little is genuinely recyclable.

Plastic has developed its own life and narrative, and the punchline could be better. We will face a plastic future until companies limit or even abandon its use for consumer activities. But that means enormous sacrifices for all of us. But it also requires regulation. Sound familiar?

The need for regulation is one of the many similarities the plastics industry shares with the world of finance. There are many more. Both have brought about significant changes that have fast-tracked us through societal transformation. While plastics have enabled and driven consumerism, they have also enabled global trade, longer shelf lives, and so on. Banking technology has brought us closer to our money, providing more choice and globalising our connection to money—bigger, faster, better.

And like plastics, banks have the potential to pollute. Banks and the technology platforms they rely on are massive users of energy and water. As technology gets more embedded and intelligent, so will the energy requirements for both. Now is the time to make every effort to minimise the environmental impact. Now is the time for the industry to ensure it does not become a significant environmental threat.

The planet has to have a seat. Now is a great time to educate yourself about the effect technology choices can have on the world and make changes.

Eric Zie, in his book Decarbonise Digital: Facts, Methods, Actions, has a decarbonisation framework that includes everything from sustainable software engineering to green design, rationalising the amount of hardware and using only the people needed. Following this framework can make a real difference in energy and water consumption and help businesses lower their carbon footprint.

Banking technology has the scale to make a real difference should it choose to. And it must.

We must ensure that banking technology follows a more planet-friendly path than plastic.

About the author

Dave Wallace is a user experience and marketing professional who has spent the last 30 years helping financial services companies design, launch and evolve digital customer experiences.