January 2016: By 2050, the oceans are predicted to contain more plastics than fish by weight, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report on the “plastics economy,” one of several publications released ahead of the WEF Annual Meeting, which is convening from 20-23 January 2016. A WEF report on jobs declares that 65% percent of children who enter primary school today will “end up working in completely new job types that don’t yet exist.” A third report discusses the impact of gender disparities on a country’s competitiveness.

Plastics are the “ubiquitous workhorse material of the modern economy,” observes the report titled ‘The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics.’ However, it finds that plastics consume 20% of oil production and 15% of the annual carbon budget, and their use has increased 20-fold in the last 50 years and is expected to double again in the next 20 years. The report recommends improving plastics’ environmental and economic outcomes by: creating an after-use economy for plastics, such as through greater use of reusable packaging and industrially compostable plastic packaging; improving after-use collection, storage and reprocessing, to reduce “leakage” of plastics into natural systems; increasing the economic attractiveness of keeping materials in the system; steering innovation investment towards materials and formats that reduce the negative environmental impact of plastics; and decoupling plastics from fossil feedstocks. The report proposes establishing a Global Plastics Protocol to coordinate large-scale pilots and demonstration projects, and calls for building a base of economic and scientific evidence. It notes that the improvements would be in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 (Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns) (SCP).

A report titled ‘The Global Gender Gap’ discusses the “strong correlation” between a country’s gender gap and its economic performance, noting that gender equality maximizes each country’s competitiveness and development potential, since leveraging the talents of women is critical in ensuring growth and sustainability. Examining several types of gender-based disparities in 145 countries, the report finds that gender gaps in health outcomes and educational attainment have narrowed, while the gaps on economic participation and political empowerment remain wide. The report’s country profiles highlight the leaders at distributing resources more equitably between men and women, regardless of their overall resource availability. Iceland performed the best on the Global Gender Index for the seventh year in a row, followed by Norway, Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Rwanda, Philippines, Switzerland, Slovenia and New Zealand. The report also considers how the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” will affect gender gaps, explaining that disparities will increase in some industries, with some jobs becoming obsolete, and opportunities emerging in other industries.

Similarly, ‘The Future of Jobs: Employment, Skills and Workforce Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution’ describes how major drivers of transformation will significantly impact job creation and displacement, and makes recommendations to prepare for future employment levels and skills requirements. Based on a survey of Chief Human Resources Offices of large employer, which asked how jobs in their industry might change by 2020, more than 5.1 million jobs may be lost between 2015-2020 as a result of disruptive labor market changes, with a total loss of 7.1 million jobs, mainly in office and administrative roles, and a total gain of 2 million jobs in fields such as architecture, computers, engineering and mathematics. In particular, the report predicts, data analysts and specialized sales representatives are expected to become increasingly important, with additional needs for managers in energy and media, entertainment and information fields. In response, labor market regulations will be updated and digital freelancers’ unions are expected to emerge.

In the near term, the report recommends stronger use of forecasting data and planning metrics, tackling barriers to talent diversity, and leveraging flexible working arrangement and online talent platforms. In the longer term, it suggests: rethinking education systems, including the dichotomy between humanities and science and applied and pure training, as well as reconsidering the prestige attached to tertiary education; incentivizing lifelong learning; and cross-industry and public-private collaboration. [WEF Publications] [Publication: The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics] [Publication: The Global Gender Gap Report] [Publication: The Future of Jobs: Executive Summary] [IISD RS Story on WEF Global Risks Report]