Businesses Urged To Drive Plastics Change And Build A Circular Economy – Forbes

Report on Business Engagement in the Circular Economy for Plastics and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: A Call to Action for Corporate Responsibility

A recent analysis by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation urges the global business community to intensify efforts in tackling plastic waste and advancing a circular economy. This initiative directly supports the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). The report posits that businesses have a critical opportunity to inform and precede regulation by moving beyond internal changes to drive market-wide transformation.

The Imperative for Collective Action and Policy Advocacy

The report emphasizes that isolated corporate actions are insufficient. To achieve systemic change in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a combination of strategies is required. This approach is a clear embodiment of SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

• Collaborative Innovation: Businesses must work together to create demand for sustainable solutions and demonstrate their viability.
• Policy Advocacy: Vocal support for ambitious and effective policy is crucial. Over 300 companies are already participating in this through the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, advocating for a framework that supports SDG 14 (Life Below Water) by preventing plastic pollution.

Progress and Achievements in Aligning with SDG 12

Signatories to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Global Commitment 2030, representing 20% of the global plastic packaging market, have demonstrated significant progress. These achievements represent tangible contributions to targets within SDG 12.

• Avoided the use of 14 million tonnes of virgin plastics.
• Tripled the use of recycled content in packaging.
• Eliminated billions of items of problematic packaging.

Despite this progress, the report calls upon the remaining 80% of the market to commit to these goals to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

Systemic Barriers to Achieving a Circular Economy

Despite progress by individual businesses, significant systemic barriers remain that hinder the full realization of a circular economy for plastics. Overcoming these challenges is essential for advancing SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

1. Scaling Reuse Models: There is a need to expand the infrastructure and market for reusable packaging.
2. Managing Flexible Packaging: Difficult-to-recycle items, such as candy wrappers, pose a significant challenge.
3. Infrastructure Deficits: A lack of adequate collection and recycling infrastructure, particularly in the Global South, impedes progress.

Recommendations for Accelerating Progress Towards the SDGs

The report, supported by industry leaders, outlines a path forward centered on collective action and enabling policy. Pablo Costa, a representative from Unilever, stressed that no single company can solve plastic pollution alone and that harmonized regulation is necessary to ensure all businesses move at the same pace.

• Focused Collaboration: Industry efforts should concentrate on the systemic barriers of reuse, flexible packaging, and infrastructure, directly supporting SDG 17.
• Advocacy for Harmonized Regulation: Businesses are encouraged to advocate for consistent global policies, such as well-designed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes.
• Scaling Sustainable Solutions: Increased corporate involvement is needed to scale solutions like paper-based materials and shared reuse and recycling infrastructure.

Economic and Social Co-benefits of a Harmonized Approach

A harmonized global regulatory approach offers significant economic, environmental, and social benefits, contributing to a wider range of SDGs, including SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

• Reduced fragmentation can lower transition costs for businesses.
• A consistent policy environment can boost innovation in sustainable materials and systems, aligning with SDG 9.
• The transition can create new jobs and growth opportunities across the plastics value chain.

The consensus is that collective advocacy for enabling policies will make sustainable packaging solutions easier and cheaper to scale for all businesses, accelerating progress toward a sustainable future.

Analysis of the Article in Relation to Sustainable Development Goals

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

  This is the most central SDG in the article. The entire text focuses on tackling plastic waste, reducing the use of virgin plastics, increasing recycling, promoting reuse, and building a circular economy, all of which are core components of responsible consumption and production patterns.

• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

  The article repeatedly emphasizes the need for collaboration. It highlights the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Global Commitment, the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, and calls for businesses to work together and with policymakers to drive systemic change, which directly aligns with the principles of multi-stakeholder partnerships.

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

  The article explicitly mentions the need to develop “collection and recycling infrastructure, particularly in the Global South.” It also discusses scaling solutions like “paper-based flexible packaging materials” and shared reuse infrastructure, which relates to innovation and upgrading industrial processes for sustainability.

• SDG 14: Life Below Water

  Although not mentioned directly, the effort to tackle plastic waste is intrinsically linked to protecting marine ecosystems. Plastic pollution is a primary source of marine debris, and the article’s call to action aims to prevent this waste from entering the environment, including oceans.

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

  The article suggests that harmonized global regulations and a transition to a circular economy can “boost innovation and even create new jobs and growth opportunities across the plastics value chain,” linking sustainable practices to economic benefits.

• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

  The call to develop “collection and recycling infrastructure” is a key component of sustainable waste management within cities and communities, which is essential for reducing the environmental impact of urban areas.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.

   The article directly supports this target by highlighting achievements such as avoiding “14 million tonnes of virgin plastics” (reduction/prevention), having “tripled their use of recycled content” (recycling), and identifying the need to scale “the amount of packaging, which can be reused” (reuse).

2. Target 12.4: By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle… and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil.

   The article’s focus on creating a circular economy for plastics, eliminating problematic packaging, and developing better collection infrastructure is aimed at achieving the environmentally sound management of plastic waste to prevent its release into the environment.

3. Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships.

   The article is a clear example of this target in action. It describes the work of a non-profit (Ellen MacArthur Foundation) with private companies (Nestlé, Unilever, etc.) through initiatives like the “Global Commitment 2030” and the “Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty” to advocate for public policy.

4. Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and processes.

   The call to develop “more collection and recycling infrastructure” and scale solutions like “paper-based flexible packaging materials and shared reuse, refill and recycling infrastructure” directly aligns with upgrading infrastructure and industry for sustainability.

5. Target 14.1: By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution.

   The entire initiative described in the article—to reduce plastic waste and improve its management—is a land-based activity aimed at preventing plastic from becoming marine debris, thus contributing directly to this target.

6. Target 8.4: Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation.

   The article promotes a circular economy, which is a model for decoupling growth from resource depletion. It mentions that signatories have avoided virgin plastics, which is equivalent to “saving one barrel of oil every second,” a clear example of improving resource efficiency.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Tonnes of virgin plastic avoided: The article states that signatories “have avoided 14 million tonnes of virgin plastics.” This is a direct quantitative indicator for waste reduction and prevention efforts under Target 12.5.
2. Percentage of recycled content used: The article mentions that businesses “have also tripled their use of recycled content.” This serves as a key performance indicator for progress in recycling and circularity, relevant to Target 12.5.
3. Number of problematic packaging items eliminated: The claim of having “eliminated billions of problematic packaging items” is a specific indicator of progress in redesigning products for sustainability, contributing to Target 12.5.
4. Number of participating businesses/market share: The article mentions that “20% of the global plastic packaging market” has joined the Global Commitment and that there are “more than 300 companies in the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty.” This acts as an indicator for the scale and reach of partnerships under Target 17.17.
5. Development of infrastructure: While not quantified, the call to develop “collection and recycling infrastructure” implies that the creation, expansion, and efficiency of such facilities would be a critical indicator of progress for Target 9.4.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: forbes.com