The idea of corporate social responsibility is not new. For years, there has been a push for companies to act in a more socially responsible manner, specifically as it relates to environmental stewardship. While environmental stewardship is important, concerns about sustainability must be balanced carefully with consumer interests. The nation’s most populous state increasingly appears to have forgotten these important fact.
California is suing oil and gas giant ExxonMobil for alleged “deceptive public messaging surrounding plastics recycling” and its culpability in “the plastic waste and pollution crisis.” Unfortunately, the lawsuit is extremely misguided and ignores the complicated role plastics continue to play in society. It seeks to pin blame on a single company for a global problem while absolving itself from any responsibility.
While many states have instituted laws requiring manufacturers to recycle, or otherwise safely dispose of waste products, California’s lawsuit goes a step further. It seeks to hold a company liable for something that, as a large oil and gas producer, it is only indirectly responsible for. That makes it uniquely dangerous and potentially damaging to consumer interests since plastics have diverse applications and continue to be widely used.
It goes without saying that plastic waste is a serious problem that, in many ways, embodies the economic concept known as the tragedy of the commons where individual actions can collectively lead to negative consequences. Every year, the U.S. produces millions of tons of plastic, much of which ultimately ends up in landfills, or in the worst cases, is discarded into the environment. California notes that only a small percentage of this plastic is recycled, with the Environmental Protection Agency putting the number at about 9%.
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Nate Scherer is a policy analyst with the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization. For more information about the Institute, visit us at www.TheAmericanConsumer.Org or follow us on X @ConsumerPal.