Amcor, Delterra, Mars, and Procter & Gamble (P&G) have launched a strategic partnership to stem the tide of plastic pollution in the Global South. These global leaders will work together to scale upstream and downstream solutions for a circular plastics economy, jointly committing US$6 million over five years.
The partnership comes in the lead-up to the second negotiating committee meeting for a Global Plastics Treaty (INC-2), working to develop a globally binding instrument on plastic pollution. Dr Shannon Bouton, president and CEO at Delterra, remarked, “We are thrilled to be partnering with Amcor, Mars and P&G on our joint mission of eliminating waste in the environment. Solving plastic pollution and indeed the broader waste crisis, requires a rethinking of the way we produce and manage waste.”
The partners say they are coming together with a shared commitment to urgent environmental action and a shared understanding that the challenge of plastic pollution cannot be solved without a systemic and holistic approach to roll out scalable and sustainable programs to boost the transition to a circular economy. The strategic partners call on like-minded organisations to join this first group and add their support to drive real change, at scale. Bouton added, “We are inspired that these organisations are stepping up to this challenge alongside Delterra and we invite more companies to join this growing partnership.”
David Clark, vice president, Sustainability at Amcor commented, “Our partnership with Delterra in Latin America has shown us that shared commitments enable great progress when working collaboratively.
“We understand the critical importance of stemming pollution at the source by designing waste out of the system and returning plastic into the value chain as recycled content. This strategic partnership is a milestone achievement towards this ultimate goal."
Recognising that plastic pollution is a symptom of the broader issue of underperforming or non-existent waste management and circularity solutions, the partnership says it is committed to investing in innovative programs along the full value chain, focusing on three main areas:
- Upstream, stemming plastic pollution at source by designing waste out of the system with Delterra’s global roll out of Plastic IQ, a digital tool that the partnership claims is changing the way companies understand and improve their plastic footprint.
- Downstream, working on the supply and demand side to capture recyclable and compostable materials and return them to productive use with Delterra’s Rethinking Recycling program.
- Innovating material traceability solutions to provide transparency on matters such as source, quality and ethical concerns along the recycling value chain.
Stacie Hecht, packaging and waste leader – Global Sustainability at Procter & Gamble stated, “It will take the entire value chain – including businesses like P&G – to prove out new circular business models while improving waste management.”
The partnership says it will focus on countries of the Global South, starting in Indonesia, Argentina and Brazil, and aim to provide easy access to waste management and recycling systems to 10 million people. The partners aim to explore new ways to drive true systems change and to innovate beyond each organisation’s individual realm to positively impact the entire ecosystem.
Allison Lin, global VP Packaging Sustainability at Mars said, “We want to demonstrate that we can create successful programs for waste management and recycling systems particularly in the Global South, that currently lacks the infrastructure we need to stop plastic pollution. Scale will enable these systems to be self-sustained and ultimately, protect people and planet while at the same time creating value for local communities.
Amcor, Delterra, Mars and P&G all say they share a common vision for a world where human activities protect and restore a healthy planet and are calling on likeminded organisations to join this strategic partnership to help drive impact at scale and deliver against our collective goals.
“We call on all parties gathering in Paris for the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations to agree on a regulatory framework that enables the creation of effective waste management infrastructure systems everywhere in the world,” Lin concluded.
