When you text your loved ones. When your doctor shares results of your CT scan. When you flick on your bathroom light.
What do these activities have in common? Connectivity.
Connecting to each other. Connecting to power. Connecting to information.
What’s the common enabler of connectivity?
The wiring and cables we rely on to connect us to the world are typically encased in tough, durable plastic for two reasons:
- to help protect the wiring and cables
- to help protect us.
One thing most plastic is really good at: protection.
One thing most plastic is really bad at: conducting a charge. Which makes it well suited for insulating wiring and cables.
Plastic helps protect our ability to connect to the world.
The device you’re reading this on. The electrical outlets in your home or office. Pretty much any device/appliance that needs electricity. All this connectivity is typically enabled and protected by plastic.
And this protective role of plastic in cable and fiber-optics is growing along with global Internet connectivity. Imagine the massive network of undersea cables without protection from frigid salty water and sea creatures.
Thankfully, this growth in connectivity can lead to some significant advancements in sustainability.
Check out Rennisha, one of America’s Change Makers, talking about what connectivity and sustainability mean to her.
Connectivity is key to meeting multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Some quick examples:
- SDG #3. Good Health and Well Being. Health care relies on the ability to access and share ever growing loads of medical information: diagnoses, tests, research, data…
- SDG #4. Quality Education. Access to the Internet has revolutionized education and plays a key role in enabling equitable learning.
How are plastic makers linking innovation with sustainability?
- SDG #7. Affordable and Clean Energy. We move electricity from solar panels and wind turbines with electrical wiring enveloped in plastic protection.
- SDG #8. Decent Work and Economic Growth. Connectivity is critical to driving equitable economic growth (2.7 billion people still cannot access the internet).
- SDG #9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. Reliable connectivity enables a resilient infrastructure – connectivity that’s protected by innovative modern materials.
Low carbon power and equitable information sharing are key to meeting our sustainability goals. But power and information aren’t valuable unless they’re delivered reliably.
Plastic delivers. Plastic protects.
Read on for more on Keeping Communities Connected.
