Members of the Business Coalition for a Global Treaty on Plastic continue to advocate for global rules to combat plastic pollution.
After talks in Geneva collapsed last week, they said “efforts based solely on goodwill will not be enough” and called on governments to consider “all options” to reach an agreement “based on harmonized rules covering the entire life cycle of plastics.”
Launched in 2022 by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and WWF, the Global Compact on Plastics Coalition brings together more than 300 companies across the plastics value chain, including Aptar Group, Beiersdorf, Berry, Clarins, Colgate Palmolive, Henkel, L'Oréal, L'Occitane, The Estée Lauder Companies, Unilever, Nature Works and others.
The coalition expressed disappointment at the “lack of consensus among countries” that “further delays important action to tackle plastic pollution and realize the economic benefits that effective harmonized regulation could bring,” but in a press release on August 15 it said “greater clarity” had been achieved after three years of negotiations.
While more than a hundred countries have agreed on rules that include phasing out certain substances, product design requirements and extended producer responsibility (EPR), a minority remains vehemently opposed to any requirements relating to manufacturing.
The likelihood of reaching an agreement that provides clear opportunities “to further mobilize investment and scale up solutions to combat plastic pollution” remains uncertain.