11 | Sustainability Report Highlights Plastics are important to our society and should never end up as litter in our environment. Plastic waste management ExxonMobil shares society’s concern about plastic waste in the environment. Plastics provide significant sustainability benefits versus alternative materials and will continue to play an important role in helping society mitigate greenhouse gas emissions (see sidebar, page 13). They should not end up as litter, either in our oceans or anywhere else in the environment. Industry, governments, nongovernmental organizations and consumers must work collaboratively to encourage appropriate recycling, reuse and recovery of plastic waste. Demand for plastics is increasing around the world at rates greater than GDP, due to the rapid growth in the global middle class and the many benefits that plastics bring to society. For example, plastics help provide for the safe production, distribution and preservation of food and water. They help reduce the weight of automobiles to improve fuel efficiency, which enables consumers to reduce their environmental footprint. And they are critical components to many life-saving products in the medical industry, including facemasks, shields and gowns for medical professionals treating patients with COVID-19 and other medical conditions (see case study, page 34). Plastic waste in the environment is part of a larger issue related to global waste management infrastructure. At least 3 billion people worldwide lack access to formal waste disposal facilities. As a result, a significant amount of solid waste makes its way into the environment. According to a 2018 estimate from the World Bank, about 12 percent of the global municipal solid waste stream is plastic. ExxonMobil is taking action to help address plastic waste in the environment by increasing plastic recyclability and supporting improvements in plastic waste recovery, for example, through our founding membership in the Alliance to End Plastic Waste . We are also working on advanced recycling solutions that create and capture value from plastic waste with opportunities for lower overall greenhouse gas emissions over the full life cycle of the plastic. In addition, minimizing pellet loss from our operations is integral to our commitment to responsible operations. ENVIRONMENT