DO YOU WANT YOUR PLANET OR

Do you Want Your Planet or Plastic?

Our goal is to reduce the amount of disposable plastic that ends in our oceans and seas while achieving measurable results. This is a multi-year project since we want to change the way people think and behave. Croatian citizens will have the opportunity to get involved in the campaigns launched by National Geographic

PETRA LEDINEK

Marketing Manager at FOX Networks Group

National Geographic has recently presented its new largescale project called 'Planet or Plastic?' through which this natural word brand is actively engaged in seeking solutions to the burning global issue of the huge amounts of plastic found in seas and oceans.

The campaign had its global presenta tion in May. It was launched in the United

States and was featured on the front page of National Geographic magazine, while the

National Geographic worldwide TV channel is in charge of communicating the project.

We are talking to Petra Ledinek, Marketing

Manager at FOX Networks Group which runs the National Geographic TV channel, about the details of this worldwide project and how it is implemented in Croatia.l „Our goal is to reduce the amount of disposable plastic that ends in our oceans and seas while achieving measurable results. This is a multi-year project since we want to change the way people think and behave, and that takes time,“ says Petra Ledinek and adds: “We have raised a

FOCUS WE ARE GOING TO FOCUS ON ELIMINATING THE MOST COMMONLY USED DISPOSABLE PLASTIC PRODUCTS SUCH AS BAGS, BOTTLES, STRAW OR COTTON SWABS AND EDUCATING A WIDER POPULATION ABOUT VIABLE ALTERNATIVES

very simple question in front of the whole world and we have a very simple dilemma for consumers – do you want your planet or plastic?"

This is a problem that is not as old as previously thought, as the journalists and researchers of National Geographic have discovered. Almost 50 per cent of the plastic we have produced as mankind has emerged in the last 15 years. 70 years ago, in 1950, 2.3 million tonnes of plastic were produced in the world, 162 million tonnes were produced in 1993 and 448 million in 2015 - the growth is exponential! And although plastic revolutionized our way of life, disposable plastics such as plastic bottles, bags or straws produce millions of tons of rubbish that end in our oceans and affect marine ecosystems. "As a global brand with a long history

of scientific discoveries and research, National Geographic is in the unique posi tion to tackle this crisis with something that it excells in - storytelling and knowledge," notes Ledinek.

Undoubtedly, National Geographic does that with success since the first results have shown that, since the launch in June, the Planet or Plastic initiative has already generated 34 million impressions on social media worldwide. "This is only the beginning of our initia tives, and in the next period, we will financially help large-scale scientific research and propose concrete solutions. One of the steps is to find among our partners those who think and recognize this problem in a similar fashion, and to change the corporate code of conduct together," says Ledinek.

Above all, with this initiative, National Geographic aims at educating consumers about a huge problem, and raise aware ness that this is, indeed, an environmental crisis. Ledinek adds that, on the other hand, they also want to make a contribu tion to solving the crisis. "We consulted experts, and studied the problem and the initiatives on this issue. We are confident that our consum er-oriented communication and scientific endeavours will be complementary and fill the holes in the knowledge, whether we are talkinig about scientific commu nities or the general public," says Ledinek and notes: "If I tell you that about nine million tonnes of plastic waste will end up in oceans each year, that more than 40% of the produced plastic is used only once, that Americans alone use millions of plastic straws every day and that 11 billion plastic bottles are sold in the United States in the space of one year, I think it is clear how big this problem is on a global level."

All of this has resulted in shocking discoveries about traces of microplas tics being found in as many as 114 aquatic species, half of which we eat. It has been proven that about 700 marine species ate or were in contact with plastics, and that, if we fail do change something, there will be more plastic waste than fish in the oceans by 2050.

As a medium and a communication plat form, the Croatian National Geographic participates in the global campaign as part of a comprehensive project that will address its viewers and the general public. CONTRIBUTION DURING THE ENTIRE DURATION OF THE PROJECT, THE CROATIAN NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC WILL ORGANIZE AND ENCOURAGE SMALLERSCALE LOCAL CAMPAIGNS AND INITIATIVES IN CROATIA THAT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO SOLVING THIS ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM

In addition, during the entire duration of the project, we will organize and encourage smaller-scale local campaigns and initi atives in Croatia that will contribute to solving this problem in a concrete way. "In cooperation with our business part ners, who have already recognized or are about to recognize the importance of this National Geographic initiative, we are planning to organize removal of plastic debris in one location on our coastline,“ says Ledinek.

Ledinek also talks about what will be the first step towards success for the campaign launchers, both globally and locally: „Specifically, we are going to focus on eliminating the most commonly used disposable plastic products such as bags, bottles, straws or cotton swabs and we are going to find simple replacements for these products. So, part of our initial effort is to educate a wider population about viable alternatives, but also to inform how to simply 'navigate' through the recycling process. This is certainly just the beginning and our first steps. We will be judged on how successful we have been in changing community habits, from the oldest to the young and the children.“

The real effect will be if consumers make small changes in their own behav iour - if they choose paper instead of plastic bags or bring their own bags when shopping, or if they start using water bottles that can be used more than once, or if they refuse to use plastic straws in restaurants and cafes.