Our choices today will define the planet’s future: Consol’s 2050 campaign
We are living through a crucial and defining period in human history. Our growing awareness of the impact we have on our environment is driving urgent action. But are we being bold enough in our choices? Are we acting quickly and drastically enough to do what we must to prevent a future defined by environmental degradation?
According to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report published in 2016, by 2050 there could be more plastic waste in our oceans than sea life by weight if we don’t act now.
According to the study, “Each year, at least 8 million tonnes of plastics leak into the ocean – which is equivalent to dumping the contents of one garbage truck into the ocean every minute. If no action is taken, this is expected to increase to two per minute by 2030 and four per minute by 2050.” As a result, the amount of plastic in our oceans will increase to more than 899 million tonnes by 2050 – the study’s estimate of the biomass of fish in our seas.
To avoid this fate, we need to make responsible choices today as the choices we make today will affect our planet tomorrow.
This responsible choice is at the heart of Consol’s “I changed 2050” campaign, which is bringing awareness to the plight of ocean life and encouraging South African consumers to make responsible choices while strengthening our position as an environmental conscious and active brand.
To encourage the switch from single-use plastic to reusable materials, a range of three on-trend glass bottles has launched, each carrying the line “I CHANGED 2050”. These reusable glass bottles are being sold through the Consol retail stores and our online shop, and a percentage of the proceeds from each bottle sold will be donated on behalf of consumers to ocean-life conservation projects – a declaration of Consol’s commitment to ensuring a sustainable future for our oceans.
All five of the turtle species found along South Africa’s coastline are threatened. These turtles often wash up on the beach as adults or sub-adults, after ingesting plastic, becoming tangled in fishing gear or being injured by boats. An astounding 63% of the turtles who arrive at the aquarium have ingested plastic and sadly many don’t survive.
Consol is also a proud partner of Matrics in Antarctica, which gives promising South African students a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit Antarctica to learn more about its diverse ecosystem and conservation, and prompts learners to think of ways to effect real environmental change in their communities.
Through these initiatives, Consol hopes to encourage consumers to pay closer attention to the repercussions of their choices when choosing packaging products, and to draw attention to the avoidable threats current consumption patterns pose to our precious environment.