An allianceof global companies from the plastics and consumer goods value chain recently launcheda new organization to advance solutions to eliminate plastic waste in theenvironment, especially in the ocean.

The crossvalue chain Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), currently made up of nearlythirty member companies, has committed over one billion dollars with the goalof investing 1.5 billion dollars over the next five years to help end plasticwaste in the environment. The Alliance will develop and bring to scale solutionsthat will minimize and manage plastic waste and promote solutions for usedplastics by helping to enable a circular economy. The Alliance membershiprepresents global companies and located throughout North and South America,Europe, Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

“Everyoneagrees that plastic waste does not belong in our oceans or anywhere in theenvironment. This is a complex and serious global challenge that calls forswift action and strong leadership. This new alliance is the most comprehensiveeffort to date to end plastic waste in the environment”, said David Taylor,Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Procter & Gamble, and chairmanof the AEPW. “I urge all companies, big and small and from all regions andsectors, to join us”, he added.

“Historyhas shown us that collective action and partnerships between industry,governments and NGOs can deliver innovative solutions to a global challengelike this”, said Bob Patel, CEO of LyondellBasell, and a vice chairman of theAEPW. “The issue of plastic waste is seen and felt all over the world. It mustbe addressed and we believe the time for action is now”.

TheAlliance is a not-for-profit organization that includes companies that make,use, sell, process, collect, and recycle plastics. This includes chemical andplastic manufacturers, consumer goods companies, retailers, converters, andwaste management companies, also known as the plastics value chain. TheAlliance has been working with the World Business Council for SustainableDevelopment as a founding strategic partner. The Alliance today also announcedan initial set of projects and collaborations that reflect a range of solutionsto help end plastic waste:

- Partneringwith cities to design integrated waste management systems in large urban areaswhere infrastructure is lacking, especially those along rivers which transportvast amounts of unmanaged plastic waste from land to the ocean. This work willinclude engaging local governments and stakeholders, and generate economicallysustainable and replicable models that can be applied across multiple citiesand regions. The Alliance will pursue partnerships with cities located in highplastic leakage areas. The Alliance will also be looking to collaborate withother programs working with cities, such as Project Stop, which is working inIndonesia.

- Fundingto support The Incubator Network by Circulate Capital and SecondMuse to developand promote technologies, business models and entrepreneurs that prevent oceanplastic waste and improve waste management and recycling, with the intention ofcreating a pipeline of projects for investment, with an initial focus on Southand Southeast Asia.

- Developingan open source, science-based global information project to support wastemanagement projects globally with reliable data collection, metrics, standards,and methodologies to help governments, companies, and investors focus on and accelerateactions to stop plastic waste from entering the environment. The Alliance willexplore opportunities to partner with leading academic institutions and otherorganizations already involved in similar types of data collection.

- Creatinga capacity building collaboration with intergovernmental organizations such asthe United Nations to conduct joint workshops and trainings for governmentofficials and community-based leaders to help them identify and pursue the mosteffective and locally-relevant solutions in the highest priority areas.

- SupportingRenew Oceans to aid localized investment and engagement. The program isdesigned to capture plastic waste before it reaches the ocean from the tenmajor rivers shown to carry the vast majority of land-based waste to the ocean.The initial work will support the Renew Ganga project, which has also receivedsupport from the National Geographic Society.

In themonths ahead, the Alliance will make additional investments and drive progressin four key areas:

- Infrastructuredevelopment to collect and manage waste and increase recycling;

- Innovationto advance and scale new technologies that make recycling and recoveringplastics easier and create value from all post-use plastics;

- Educationand engagement of governments, businesses, and communities to mobilize action;

- Clean upof concentrated areas of plastic waste already in the environment, particularlythe major conduits of waste, like rivers, that carry land-based plastic wasteto the sea.

“Successwill require collaboration and coordinated efforts across many sectors - somethat create near-term progress and others that require major investments withlonger timelines. Addressing plastic waste in the environment and developing acircular economy of plastics requires the participation of everyone across theentire value chain and the long term commitment of businesses, governments, andcommunities. No one country, company or community can solve this on their own”,said Veolia CEO Antoine Frérot, a vice chairman of the AEPW.

Researchfrom the Ocean Conservancy shows that nearly 80 percent of plastic waste in theocean begins as litter on land, the vast majority of which travels to the seaby rivers. In fact one study estimates that over 90 percent of river borneplastic in the ocean comes from 10 major rivers around the world - eight inAsia, and two in Africa. Sixty percent of plastic waste in the ocean can besourced to five countries in Southeast Asia.

“While oureffort will be global, the Alliance can have the greatest impact on the problemby focusing on the parts of the world where the challenge is greatest; and bysharing solutions and best practices so that these efforts can be amplified andscaled-up around the world”, said Peter Bakker, President and CEO of WorldBusiness Council for Sustainable Development.

Thefollowing companies are the founding members of the Alliance: Basf, BerryGlobal, Braskem, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, Clariant, Covestro, Dow,DSM, ExxonMobil, Formosa Plastics Corporation USA, Henkel, LyondellBasell,Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, Mitsui Chemicals, Nova Chemicals, OxyChem,PolyOne, Procter & Gamble, Reliance Industries, Sabic, Sasol, Suez, Shell,SCG Chemicals, Sumitomo Chemical, Total, Veolia, and Versalis (Eni).

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