October 28, 2024
Dear Heads of State,
INC-5 in November represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address plastic pollution at a global level. As business leaders, we’re calling on governments to unite and deliver a treaty that is fit for purpose.
As members of the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, a group of 250+ global businesses, financial institutions and NGOs, we see an ambitious treaty with binding global rules as a chance to harmonise the policy landscape, strengthen national legislation, and help businesses scale proven solutions for priority sectors such as packaging.
Global rules are also good for governments, reducing long-term public spending on waste management and mobilising investment to create jobs across the value chain.
A treaty based on voluntary measures alone risks delaying action by decades. This would create further fragmentation in the regulatory landscape for business, leading to increased cost and complexity.
For business to implement an effective treaty, we need agreement at INC-5 on:
As business leaders, we are working to transform our business models to catalyse a circular economy in which plastic never becomes waste or pollution, and the value of products and materials is retained in the economy. There is already significant alignment on these topics through voluntary industry initiatives, and we remain committed to efforts to advance a circular economy for plastics . However, it is clear that voluntary efforts alone are not enough to address plastic pollution at scale.
We stand ready to work together with policymakers across the world on this critical task. There is no time to waste, INC-5 presents a critical opportunity that we cannot afford to miss.
Antoine de Saint-Affrique, CEO, Danone
Augusto Bauer, CEO, AJE
Barbara Martin Coppola, CEO, DECATHLON
Carsten Knobel, CEO, Henkel
Christian Klein, CEO, SAP
Fisk Johnson, CEO, SC Johnson
Hein Schumacher, CEO, Unilever
Jon Abrahamsson Ring, CEO, Inter IKEA Group
Kevin Kwilinski, CEO, Berry Global
Laurent Freixe, CEO, Nestlé
Magnus Groth, CEO, Essity
Peter Konieczny, CEO, Amcor
Philipp Lehner, CEO, ALPLA
Poul Weihrauch, CEO, Mars Inc
Ramon Laguarta, CEO, PepsiCo
Rodrigo Tona, CEO, Ternova
Samuel Sigrist, CEO, SIG
Stefan Doboczky, CEO Borealis
Surendra Patawari, Chairman, Gemini Corporation
Tom Daunt, Member of Executive Board, ALDI SOUTH Group
Tom Szaky, CEO, Terracycle
Tove Andersen, CEO, Tomra
Chemicals and polymers of concern
Problematic and avoidable plastic products
Reduce, Reuse, Refill and repair of plastics and plastic products
Product design and performance
Extended Producer Responsibility
Waste management
The draft treaty text includes a (sub-)section related to this focus area, but the proposed provisions do not reflect the Business Coalition’s recommendations.
The draft treaty text proposes provisions that are at least partly aligned with the Business Coalition recommendations, but some major changes still need to be incorporated and/ or it lacks the necessary references to develop technical specifications to make them meaningful, operational and enforceable.
The draft treaty text proposes provisions that are mostly aligned to the Business Coalition’s recommendations, and it references the need to develop technical specifications to ensure harmonised implementation.
The draft treaty text proposes provisions that are aligned to the Business Coalition’s recommendations, and it requires technical specifications to be adopted by the INC or the future governing body to help governments to implement harmonised and effective regulations.
The draft treaty text contains both the legal provisions and the technical specifications needed to help governments to implement harmonised and effective regulations in line with the Business Coalition’s recommendations.