Concept Note Public Dialogue-1

CONCEPT NOTE
Public Dialogue
“Breaking the Plastic Habit in Asia: A Public Dialogue on the Application
of Behavioral Insights”
9 November, 2023
ERIA Annex, Jakarta
I. Background
In 2018, global plastic production reached a staggering 360 million tonnes, of which
an estimated 50% consists of single-use plastics. While efforts to map and quantify the
amount of plastic pollution in our ecosystems are ongoing, it was recently evidenced that
plastic leakage into the oceans is heavily contributed to by countries in the Asia-Pacific region,
particularly the Philippines, India, Malaysia, China, and Indonesia. Paradoxically, these
countries which are composed of archipelagos and long coastlines, are also some of the
most vulnerable to plastic pollution. It should also be reminded that several countries in the
Asia-Pacific have been burdened with plastic waste originating from developed nations,
despite their lack of appropriate waste management and recycling facilities.
Confronted with this plastic challenge, many governments are prompted to develop
national action plans and collaborate internationally to develop a global treaty to end plastic
pollution. Combatting this crisis requires a multi-pronged strategy and substantial financial
support to curb the consumption of single-use plastics and close the plastic leakage
pathways to the ocean. Above all, actions urgently need to focus on preventing the influx of
plastic on the market, by limiting the production of single-use plastic products and supporting
the implementation of zero-waste lifestyles by developing alternative delivery systems and
reusable products. Some nations have enacted stringent measures against the use of
single-plastic products, including fees and bans. However, a comprehensive understanding
of stakeholder behaviour concerning plastic use is imperative for the effective implementation
of plastic prevention measures on the long-term.
Behavioural insights, drawing upon principles from psychology, cognitive science, and
social science, facilitate a nuanced comprehension of human behaviour. In turn, this
understanding enables the development of effective interventions to induce behavioural
change. As such, behavioural insights offer innovative approaches to understanding and
influencing human behaviour to facilitate the adoption of low-waste practices for consumers.
Behavioural insight interventions can function as a complementary or precursor approach to
traditional policy instruments such as regulations, economic incentives, and awareness
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campaigns to curb the consumption of single-use plastics. While the application of
behavioural insights to reduce plastic consumption has been increasingly applied and
reported in Western countries, we observed a gap in the literature on the applications of
behavioural insights to reduce plastic consumption in the Asia-Pacific region.
Over the past year, a collaborative effort has been underway to harness behavioural
insights against the plastic pollution crisis in the Asia-Pacific region. The Regional Knowledge
Center for Marine Plastic Litter of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia
(ERIA) and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), in collaboration with
educational and research institutions in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam,
conducted a project to test the effectiveness of using behavioural insights to reduce
single-use plastic consumption in cities, communities, and campuses.
Pilot teams in four countries have implemented behavioural insights interventions to
reduce plastic consumption, in collaboration with researchers and students, and have
demonstrated effectiveness in reducing single-use plastics.
Building on the remarkable results, IGES and ERIA organise a dialogue bringing
together the practitioners involved in the project to deepen the insights toward further
application to help the future efforts of Asian cities, communities, businesses, and schools to
reduce single-use plastic consumption.
II. Programme
⚫ Public Dialogue “Breaking the Plastic Habit in Asia: A Public Dialogue on the
Application of Behavioural Insights”
a) Objectives
• Share the benefits, challenges, and cautions of implementing plastic reduction
methods using behavioral insights into initiatives in Asian cities, communities, schools,
and other settings.
• Discuss the role of local governments, schools, businesses, researchers, and others
in using behavioral insights in a more diverse range of settings
• Disseminate the main insights and best practices drawn from the project to the public.
b) Event Details
• Location: ERIA Office Jakarta and Zoom Meeting Room
• Language: English
• Speakers:
• Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Government of Indonesia
• ERIA
• IGES
• Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Indonesia (Pilot Team)
• Chulalongkorn University, Thailand (Pilot Team)
• University of the Philippines Diliman, the Philippines (Pilot Team)
• Southern Institute of Ecology, Vietnam (Pilot Team)
• Audience: (up to 100 people)
• National and local government concerned with plastic waste reduction
• Researchers, Educators and Practitioners
• International organizations
• Civil society.
c) Expected Outcomes
• Audience, including government, international organizations, civil society and
academia, gain the key-insights on the application of the knowledge sharing on BI
approaches to reduce single-use plastic consumption
• Audience are inspired by the pilot cases and the “Guidance” and are nudged to
consider application of BI approaches in their implementation
• ERIA, IGES, the four pilot teams will broaden the chances of future collaboration
d) Agenda
Date: 9 November 2023

Venue: Large Meeting Room, ERIA Annex
Sentral Senayan II 6th floor, Jalan Asia Afrika No.8, Gelora Bung Karno, Senayan
Jakarta Pusat 10270, Indonesia
09:30 - 09:40 10” Welcome remarks

• MR Kawamura, ERIA
09:40 - 10:00 20” Keynote

• Dra. Jo Kumala Dewi, M.Sc., Director of Environmental
Partnership, Ministry of Environment and Forestry
Republic of Indonesia
10:00 - 10:15 15” Introduction to the ERIA BI Project

• Atsushi Watabe, IGES
10:15 - 11:25 70” Panel discussion & Interaction
(incl. 10” “Nudging for a Plastic-Free Asia”
of Q&A) Moderator:
• Dwayne Appleby, IGES
Panelists:
• Pilot implementing partners
• or representatives from their partner organisations
Guiding Question 1
• What are the remarkable changes in behaviours
through the design and implementation of BI
approaches?
o Pilot teams prepare a) 1 slide to show the
numerical results and b) 2 photos to show their
approach and the observed changes
Guiding Question 2
• What roles can project participants take?
o Pilot teams prepare a) 2 photos to show what
their participating students/teachers worked on
o Online students/partners will also answer the
same question (if possible, share a short footage
taken by themselves)
Guiding Question 3
• How to best utilize the achievements and lessons?
• Who do you want to collaborate with in future?
11:25 - 11:30 5” Closing remarks

• ERIA

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CONCEPT NOTE

Date: 9 November 2023

09:30 - 09:40 10” Welcome remarks

09:40 - 10:00 20” Keynote

10:00 - 10:15 15” Introduction to the ERIA BI Project

11:25 - 11:30 5” Closing remarks

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