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Search As a member of the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty—convened by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the World Wildlife Fund—Unilever is collaborating with stakeholders across the plastics value chain to support an ambitious and effective treaty. In this interview, Ed Shepherd, Senior Global Sustainability Manager – Circular Economy at Unilever shares why a Global Plastics Treaty matters to the company and the broader consumer goods industry.
Why is the Treaty important to Unilever?
Unilever has been at the forefront of voluntary industry action on plastic pollution for some time and, today, our plastic goals focus on the areas that we know will have the most impact – such as continuing to reduce our virgin plastic use and developing alternatives to hard-to-recycle flexible plastic packaging. But we know that voluntary goals and initiatives alone can only go so far and too often reduces the competitiveness of those taking action. Policy and regulation need to play a part in levelling the playing field for all businesses and driving systemic change. The treaty is the single-biggest policy opportunity for business on plastic – to both reduce virgin plastic use and help scale practical solutions, like improving the recyclability of materials through harmonised packaging design.
How would the wider consumer goods industry benefit from the Treaty?
Businesses across the plastics value chain are facing increased regulatory fragmentation, with different rules in different jurisdictions. This creates cost and complexity for businesses that operate, or want to operate, in more than one country. If the treaty can set mandatory global rules – for example, on which materials or material combinations should be phased out in packaging – it would harmonise the regulatory environment significantly for business. It would also provide more legal certainty for the future, which only boosts investment and innovation.
What is the value of working in Coalitions?
The only way we are going to tackle plastic pollution is by working together – and we are fully committed to working with industry partners and other stakeholders to develop viable, scalable alternatives that reduce plastic waste. Coalitions such as The Consumer Goods Forum’s Plastic Waste Coalition and the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty provide an important platform for pre-competitive collaboration; only by identifying synergies and mutual challenges can we work together to scale new industry-wide solutions.
What message do you have for participants in the INC process?
Business is ready and willing to implement a treaty underpinned by global rules, including for priority sectors such as plastic packaging. Voluntary measures risks low adoption and more fragmentation for business. But with global rules, business can scale solutions quicker and more effectively. Feel free to get in touch via the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty website if you are in Busan and would like to speak with our delegation!
