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United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Sustainable Development

Dell Commits to Scaling Commercial Use of Ocean Bound Plastic

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    Description
    Description

    Our commitment in support of UN SDG Goal 14 is focused on the issue of ocean bound plastic and includes:

    1) Increasing our annual use of ocean bound plastic 10x by 2025, based on our 2017 baseline.

    2) Open sourcing our ocean bound plastic supply chain to encourage and enable broad usage of ocean bound plastic. This would include convening, in partnership with the Lonely Whale Foundation, a cross-industry working group to encourage collaboration and share best practices.

    Progress reports, achievements at a glance: Since registering this commitment in 2017, we launched our industry’s first ocean bound plastic packaging for our premier consumer laptop, the XPS 2-in-1. Since that time, we have continued to scale and grow not only the product lines in which ocean bound plastic packaging would be leveraged, including a portion of our commercial Latitude notebook line, but we also scaled the percentage mix of the material with other recycled material (25%-50% in most cases). In 2019 alone, Dell Technologies used 66,635 lbs of this material which went into 1,751,494 plastic packaging trays and endcaps for our products. This brings our new total between 2017-2019 to 88,887 lbs used in our packaging, as well as evaluation and testing of other material use cases. Additionally, to fulfill our second commitment to the UN SDG 14, Dell Technologies also took the step to officially form the NextWave Plastics consortium (nextwaveplastics.org) in partnership with

    The Lonely Whale Foundation and select number of founding members from cross-industry companies. The consortium was formed in late 2017 in support of these 10 principles: (1) transparent, (2) open-source, (3) science-based, (4) cooperative, (5) complementary, (6) beneficial, (7) enduring, (8) accountable, (9) collaborative, and (10) competitive. Since that time, membership has grown to 11 organizations committed to develop commercially viable and operational supply chains and the integration of non-virgin plastic material into packaging and products. Since launch, member companies have developed use cases and conducted commercial launches, which showcase the viability of integrating ocean-plastics into existing supply chains (or creating new ones). The NextWave Plastics supply chains are currently found in areas such as Indonesia, Chile, Philippines, Haiti, and Denmark. Additionally, the membership has committed to collectively divert a minimum of 25,000 metric tons of plastic from entering the ocean by the end of 2025

    Challenges faced in implementation: Although ocean-bound plastic material has been successfully leveraged within aspects of packaging in our products, there continue to be some limits in use cases due to the nature and types of ocean bound plastic waste. The supply chain Dell Technologies and other NextWave Plastics member companies are developing to collect ocean-bound plastics provides an economic opportunity that supports livelihoods for many people. However, the workers in this type of supply chain also encounter challenges that may come with informal employment, which also makes workers hard to monitor. As such, NextWave Plastics has established a social responsibility working group to fuel discussion, research, pilots and other mechanisms to continue to engage and advance this supply chain and its workers

    Partners

    Lonely Whale Foundation (philanthropic organization)

    Goal 12

    Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

    Goal 12

    12.1

    Implement the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries

    12.1.1

    Number of countries developing, adopting or implementing policy instruments aimed at supporting the shift to sustainable consumption and production

    12.2

    By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources

    12.2.1

    Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP

    12.2.2

    Domestic material consumption, domestic material consumption per capita, and domestic material consumption per GDP

    12.3

    By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses

    12.3.1

    (a) Food loss index and (b) food waste index

    12.4

    By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment

    12.4.1
    Number of parties to international multilateral environmental agreements on hazardous waste, and other chemicals that meet their commitments and obligations in transmitting information as required by each relevant agreement
    12.4.2

    (a) Hazardous waste generated per capita; and (b) proportion of hazardous waste treated, by type of treatment

    12.5

    By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse

    12.5.1

    National recycling rate, tons of material recycled

    12.6

    Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle

    12.6.1
    Number of companies publishing sustainability reports

    12.7

    Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities

    12.7.1

    Number of countries implementing sustainable public procurement policies and action plans

    12.8

    By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature

    12.8.1

    Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment

    12.a

    Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production

    12.a.1

    Installed renewable energy-generating capacity in developing countries (in watts per capita)

    12.b

    Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products

    12.b.1

    Implementation of standard accounting tools to monitor the economic and environmental aspects of tourism sustainability

    12.c

    Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption by removing market distortions, in accordance with national circumstances, including by restructuring taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies, where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts, taking fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and minimizing the possible adverse impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor and the affected communities

    12.c.1

    Amount of fossil-fuel subsidies (production and consumption) per unit of GDP

    Goal 14

    Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

    Goal 14

    14.1

    By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution

    14.1.1

    (a) Index of coastal eutrophication; and (b) plastic debris density

    14.2

    By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans

    14.2.1

    Number of countries using ecosystem-based approaches to managing marine areas

    14.3

    Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels

    14.3.1
    Average marine acidity (pH) measured at agreed suite of representative sampling stations

    14.4

    By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics

    14.4.1
    Proportion of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels

    14.5

    By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information

    14.5.1
    Coverage of protected areas in relation to marine areas

    14.6

    By 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the World Trade Organization fisheries subsidies negotiation

    14.6.1

    Degree of implementation of international instruments aiming to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

    14.7

    By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism

    14.7.1

    Sustainable fisheries as a proportion of GDP in small island developing States, least developed countries and all countries

    14.a

    Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, in order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular small island developing States and least developed countries

    14.a.1
    Proportion of total research budget allocated to research in the field of marine technology

    14.b

    Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets

    14.b.1

    Degree of application of a legal/regulatory/policy/institutional framework which recognizes and protects access rights for small‐scale fisheries

    14.c

    Enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources, as recalled in paragraph 158 of "The future we want"

    14.c.1

    Number of countries making progress in ratifying, accepting and implementing through legal, policy and institutional frameworks, ocean-related instruments that implement international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans and their resources

    Name Description
    14.1 By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution

    Increase ocean plastics usage 10X from 2017 volume

    In-kind contribution
    Contribution to Lonely Whale Foundation to convene cross-industry ocean plastic working group
    Staff / Technical expertise
    Resources pulled from packaging, procurement, sustainability and various other Dell teams as required
    Title Progress Status Submitted
    Partnership Progress 2021-02-12 On track
    Partnership Progress 2021-02-12 On track
    False
    Action Network
    Ocean conference wheel logo
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    Timeline
    01 January 1970 (start date)
    01 January 1970 (date of completion)
    Entity
    Dell Technologies
    SDGs
    Geographical coverage
    Austin, United States
    Ocean Basins
    South Pacific, North Atlantic
    Communities of Ocean Action
    Marine pollution
    Countries
    Haiti
    Haiti
    Indonesia
    Indonesia
    Contact Information

    Melanie Derome, Sustainability Communications Lead