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Corporate responsibility to curb microplastics
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This study investigated the psychosocial factors that influence corporate willingness to take responsibility for reducing microplastic emissions, drawing on behavioral science to understand why companies act — or fail to act — on plastic pollution. Key factors identified included perceived social norms, corporate identity, and regulatory pressure. The study suggests that combining public pressure, industry benchmarking, and regulatory frameworks could be effective in motivating corporate behavior change around microplastic pollution.
Current consumer and corporate habits entail an enormous level of emissions of plastic and microplastic waste, which are causing unsustainable levels of pollution. For this reason, it is essential to pay attention to the factors that could promote a change in current polluting practices. The aim of this study is to identify relevant psychosocial aspects for the prevention and improvement of contamination by microplastics from the industry. An analysis of keyword clusters has been used from selected articles after applying quality filters according to the PRISMA strategy. Results show that there are hardly any psychosocial studies on the involvement of the industry in the control of microplastic contamination, despite being the main actor identified in prospective studies. The perception of risk and awareness of the problem are the main psychosocial determinants of sustainable corporate habits regarding the generation of microplastic waste. In conclusion, it is proposed to promote corporate social responsibility to encourage the circular economy, thus preventing contamination by microplastics. Also see: https://micro2022.sciencesconf.org/416955/document
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