Global Commitment Spring 2019 Report - Press Release

EMBARGO 00:01 (GMT) MARCH 14, 2019
New report reveals details of

industry and government
efforts to tackle plastic waste
and pollution
● First New Plastics Economy Global Commitment report reveals targets and
initial steps by Global Commitment signatories to eliminate plastics waste and
pollution
● Major companies including XXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXX

XXXXXX publish data on their annual plastic packaging volumes, most of
them for the first time
● Consumer goods companies and retailers commit to increase recycled

content in their packaging to an average of 25% by 2025, compared with the
current global average of just 2%
● Leading businesses and governments will end the use of problematic and
unnecessary plastic including PVC and single-use plastic straws and carrier
bags, many of them by the end of this year. 40 brands and retailers are
piloting or expanding reuse and refill schemes
● The Ellen MacArthur Foundation welcomes these initial efforts, but calls for
more action to eliminate problematic and unnecessary plastic packaging, and a greater
shift to reuse delivery models that reduce the need for single-use packaging
● Number of Global Commitment signatories rises from 250 to more than 350. New
signatories include XXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXXX. Financial
institutions with over USD 4 trillion in assets under management have endorsed the
commitment.
THURSDAY, MARCH 14
Details of how brands, governments, and other organisations are tackling plastic pollution have
been set out side-by-side for the first time, thanks to a new report published by the Ellen
MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative, in collaboration with UN Environment.
The report follows the launch of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, which established
a vision to stop plastic waste and pollution at source by applying circular economy principles.
More than 250 organisations, representing every part of the plastics system, signed the
commitment when it was launched in collaboration with UN Environment in OXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXXX. Financial institutions with over USD 4 trillion in assets
under management have endorsed the commitment.
The Global Commitment aims to create ‘a new normal’
for plastic packaging, with signatories committing to:
● Eliminate problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging and move from

single-use to reuse packaging models
● Innovate to ensure 100% of plastic packaging can be easily and safely reused,
recycled, or composted by 2025
● Circulate the plastic produced, by significantly increasing the volumes of
plastic reused or recycled into new packaging
By providing previously unpublished data and setting out commitments side by side,
this report offers a new level of transparency about today’s plastic system and efforts
to stop plastic waste and pollution.
The decision by more than 30 companies to publicly disclose their annual plastic
packaging volumes in the report is an important step towards greater transparency.
We encourage all companies that make and use plastics to disclose their plastics
footprint.
The report shows welcome progress in increasing the amount of recycled content in
plastic packaging, and the phasing out of non-recyclable materials. The recycled
content targets for plastic in packaging jointly represent 5 million tonnes by 2025.
This is the biggest ever commitment to use recycled plastics in packaging and
provides clear demand for increased investment in high-quality recycling and will
result in a significant reduction in virgin plastics production.
However, while improving recycling is crucial, we cannot recycle our way out of the
plastics issues we currently face. Elimination of problematic or unnecessary plastic
packaging through redesign, innovation, and new delivery models is a priority. Reuse
models need to be applied where relevant, reducing the need for single-use
packaging. All of this is an explicit part of the Global Commitment vision, endorsed by
all 350+ signatories.
New Plastics Economy lead Sander Defruyt said: “The targets and action plans set out in this
report are a significant step forward compared with the pace of change of past decades.
However, they are still far from truly matching the scale of the problem, particularly when it comes
to elimination of unnecessary items and innovation towards reuse models. Ambition levels must
continue to rise to make real strides in addressing global plastic pollution by 2025, and moving
from commitment to action is crucial. Major investments, innovations, and transformation
programmes need to be started n ow, to realise the impact by 2025.”
Lisa Svensson, UN Environment, Coordinator of the Marine and Coastal Ecosystems Branch,
said: “UN Environment is delighted to be working with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to help turn
the tide on plastic pollution. Within just a few months of the launch of the New Plastics Economy
Global Commitment we have seen important progress. The Foundation's work to create a circular
economy for plastic aligns very well with our Clean Seas campaign, which has become the
biggest global compact addressing marine plastic.”
National-level efforts to put the Global Commitment’s vision into practice include a growing
network of Plastic Pacts. These collaborations between government, NGOs, and businesses focus
on creating country-specific circular economy solutions to plastics waste. The UK launched the first
Plastics Pact in April 2018 and the French pact was
launched last month. The Chilean government has announced plans to do the same
later this year. All countries are signatories to the Global Commitment.
As an endorser of the Global Commitment, the World Economic Forum on Monday

(March 11) launched the first national action partnership of the Global Plastics Action
Partnership in Indonesia.
The New Plastics Economy will publish a further report on signatory progress in
Autumn 2019, and every year following.
For more information or to request an interview, please contact Rose Ely

rose.ely@ellenmacarthurfoundation.org +44 7753 454 133
NOTES TO EDITOR
THE NEW PLASTICS ECONOMY
Over the past four years, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy
initiative has rallied businesses and governments behind a positive vision of a circular
economy for plastics. Its 2016 and 2017 New Plastics Economy reports captured
worldwide headlines, revealing the financial and environmental costs of waste plastic
and pollution.
The initiative is supported by Wendy Schmidt as Lead Philanthropic Partner, the

Global Environment Facility (GEF), MAVA Foundation, Oak Foundation, and players of
People’s Postcode Lottery (GB) as Philanthropic Funders. Amcor, The Coca-Cola
Company, Danone, L’Oréal, MARS, Novamont, PepsiCo, Unilever, and Veolia are the
initiative’s Core Partners.
Further information: newplasticseconomy.org | @NewPlasticsEcon
THE NEW PLASTICS ECONOMY GLOBAL COMMITMENT VISION
At the heart of the Global Commitment is a vision of a circular economy for plastic, where plastics
never become waste. Each signatory formally endorses the vision and the need to work towards
achieving it.
It is defined by six key points:

● Elimination of problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging through redesign, innovation,
and new delivery models is a priority
● Reuse models are applied where relevant, reducing the need for single-use packaging
● All plastic packaging is 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable
● All plastic packaging is reused, recycled, or composted in practice
● The use of plastic is fully decoupled from the consumption of finite resources
● All plastic packaging is free of hazardous chemicals, and the health, safety, and rights of all
people involved are respected
Read entire vision here: https://newplasticseconomy.org/assets/doc/npec-vision.pdf
THE ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation was launched in 2010 to accelerate the transition to a
circular economy. The Foundation works across key areas including insight and
analysis, business and government, learning, systemic initiatives, and communications.
With its Knowledge Partners (Arup, IDEO, McKinsey & Company and SYSTEMIQ), the
Foundation works to quantify the economic opportunity of a more circular model and
to develop approaches for capturing its value. The Foundation collaborates with its
Global Partners (Danone, Google, H&M, Intesa Sanpaolo, NIKE Inc., Philips, Renault,
SCJohnson, Solvay, Unilever), Core Philanthropic Funders (SUN, MAVA, players of
People’s Postcode Lottery (GB)), and its CE100 network (businesses, universities,
emerging innovators, governments, cities, affiliate organisations) to build capacity,
explore collaboration opportunities, and to develop circular business initiatives.
Further information: ellenmacarthurfoundation.org | @circulareconomy
UN ENVIRONMENT
UN Environment is the leading global voice on the global environment. It provides

leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring,
informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without
compromising that of future generations. UN Environment works with governments,
the private sector, civil society and with other UN entities and international
organisations across the world.
Further information: unenvironment.org | @UNEnvironment
GLOBAL PLASTICS ACTION PARTNERSHIP (GPAP)
GPAP is a global public-private platform for collaboration to help translate political and
corporate commitment to address plastic pollution into tangible strategies and
investible action plans. GPAP brings together governments, companies, civil societies
and think-tanks to avert plastic pollution from source to sea by 2025, by fast-tracking circular
economy solutions.
Further information: weforum.org | @wef

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EMBARGO 00:01 (GMT) MARCH 14, 2019

New report reveals details of

● Major companies including XXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXX

● Consumer goods companies and retailers commit to increase recycled

● Eliminate​ problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging and move from

As an endorser of the Global Commitment, ​the World Economic Forum on Monday

For more information or to request an interview, please contact Rose Ely

THE NEW PLASTICS ECONOMY

The initiative is supported by Wendy Schmidt as Lead Philanthropic Partner, the

Further information:​ ​newplasticseconomy.org​ | ​@NewPlasticsEcon

THE NEW PLASTICS ECONOMY GLOBAL COMMITMENT VISION

It is defined by six key points:

Read entire vision here:​ ​https://newplasticseconomy.org/assets/doc/npec-vision.pdf

THE ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

Further information:​ ellenmacarthurfoundation.org​ | ​@circulareconomy

UN Environment is the leading global voice on the global environment. It provides

Further information:​ ​unenvironment.org​ | ​@UNEnvironment

GLOBAL PLASTICS ACTION PARTNERSHIP​ (GPAP)

Further information:​ ​weforum.org​ | ​@wef

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● Eliminate problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging and move from

As an endorser of the Global Commitment, the World Economic Forum on Monday

Further information: newplasticseconomy.org | @NewPlasticsEcon

Read entire vision here: https://newplasticseconomy.org/assets/doc/npec-vision.pdf

Further information: ellenmacarthurfoundation.org | @circulareconomy

Further information: unenvironment.org | @UNEnvironment

GLOBAL PLASTICS ACTION PARTNERSHIP (GPAP)

Further information: weforum.org | @wef