Today, on the 5th of June, we celebrate World Environment Day, and Altum Technologies wants to participate in raising awareness on this important occasion. The day brings together millions of people around the world to join forces to protect the earth.

World Environment Day, led by the United Nations Environment Programme, has been held annually on the 5th of June since 1973. This year, therefore, marks the event’s 50th anniversary.

Throughout its history, World Environment Day has been very up-to-date with its themes, tackling topics and issues that must be highlighted today instead of tomorrow.  Recently, themes have included Green Cities, Reducing Your Foodprint, Illegal trade in wildlife, Air pollution and Ecosystem restoration, among many others. Put very simply: World Environment Day puts a global spotlight on the pressing environmental challenges of our time.

This year’s theme is yet again a very current one: Beat Plastic Pollution. It is obvious why, since the world is choking on plastic, both literally and figuratively. The problem is global, affecting everyone and everything on land or in the sea. The numbers are chilling: around the world, one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute, while up to five trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year. Altogether, people produce about 400 million tons of plastic waste yearly.

The problem is not that people are unaware of the problem since it has been a global topic for years. The problem is more complex: we have become addicted to single-use plastic products.

To battle the plastic problem, every level of society needs to be involved: we need to combine the actions of governments, businesses and individuals to really tackle this issue.

There are many things that individuals can do. You can stop using plastic straws, you can bring your own coffee mug or water bottle to work, and stop buying plastic bags in grocery stores, to name just a few.

Next to individuals, companies are key players in beating the plastic problem and protecting the environment. The actions of companies are often more indirect and complex than simply just avoiding the use of plastic products. With companies, you need to assess the processes more carefully as a whole. Companies as bigger actors can create change and have a lasting impact on the environment through their choices to act more sustainably- this is a change we want to be a part of.

Altum’s primary focus is to develop solutions enabling its customers to reduce their environmental footprint, and according to our ESG commitments we strive to reduce our own climate and environmental impacts as well. We support the efforts to decrease the use of plastics and act according to our ESG commitments to solve this issue by acting against plastic pollution in our actions as a company.

Let’s make this year’s theme really count, and let’s #BeatPlasticPollution together!