CVS Health : Curbing plastic waste to protect oceans

From providing the oxygen we breathe and food we eat to regulating temperature and weather, the world's oceans play a critical role in protecting human health.

That's why for World Ocean Day there's a 30x30 global movement to protect at least 30% of the world's lands, waters and ocean by 2030.

CVS Health is doing its part to address the environmental and health impact of plastic waste as part of its sustainability efforts to reduce its environmental impact at least 50% by 2030https://www.cvshealth.com/sites/default/files/cvs-health-esg-report-2021.pdf.

"We recognize the health of the environment is inextricably linked to the health of all people and we are taking bold climate action to improve the health and well-being of the communities we serve," says Sheryl Burke, Senior Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility.

Approximately 300 million metric tons of plastic waste - equal to the weight of the entire human population - are produced every yearhttps://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/world-leaders-set-sights-plastic-pollution#:~:text=Every%20year,%20an%20estimated%2011,),%20From%20Pollution%20to%20Solution.. Only 9% of that gets recycled and 11 million metric tons enters the oceans.

"A lot of people don't realize that the ocean produces the majority of our oxygen, and it contains over 97% of the water on our planet," says Edith Cecchini, Project Director, Corporate Strategy and Policy, Ocean Conservancy. "The ocean should be critical to sustainability efforts."