ERIA–IGES Project on Plastic Use Behaviour Reaches Global Audience at SCORAI Europe Conference 2025

Representing the ERIA–IGES delegation, Mr Dwayne Appleby, Programme Manager for Sustainable Consumption at IGES, delivered a presentation in the workshop ‘W16 – Why People Adopt Sustainable Living Practices’ on 8 April alongside presenters from Europe, Africa, and North America. He highlighted common challenges faced across Southeast Asia for governments, businesses, and civil society in addressing single-use plastic pollution.

Mr Appebly also shared promising pathways emerging from the ‘Breaking the Plastic Habit in ASEAN’ project, which is currently underway, with Phase II being implemented in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The initiative has shed light on the underlying conditions that ASEAN countries are dealing with, including challenges related to waste management systems, local government policies, supply chains, and public awareness and behaviour. Despite these issues, innovative new approaches to shifting consumer, business, and institutional behaviours around single-use plastics are emerging, rooted in the unique cultures, geographies, and histories of each country.

Participants from different corners of the world learned about the pilot, country-specific projects from Phase I of ‘Breaking the Plastic Habit in ASEAN’ and gained critical insights into the different motivators behind sustainable behaviours across the region. These ASEAN experiences provided a valuable set of examples for policymakers and practitioners, sparking a rich discussion centred on the benefits of cross-country and cross-region knowledge exchanges. 

A key takeaway from the discussion was the need to create spaces for behaviour change practitioners to share their work and learn from one another – particularly drawing on examples from the Global South.