Towards a UN treaty on plastic pollution

To solve plastic waste and pollution, in way that also helps us address climate change and biodiversity loss, we need a circular economy for plastic which addresses the full lifecycle of plastic.

We must build on the progress made by the Global Commitment and Plastics Pact Network and go beyond voluntary co-operation.

While voluntary initiatives have begun to deliver change among market leaders, we need an international binding approach to amplify current efforts and level the playing field, delivering the necessary industry scale change to end plastic pollution.

A treaty for a circular economy for plastics is the next necessary step from the successful voluntary agreements in place - we need common urgent action that builds on this success. 

By setting out global goals and legally binding targets, together with national action plans and consistent measurement, a UN Treaty will:

• harmonise policy efforts

• enhance investment planning

• stimulate innovation

• coordinate infrastructure development

We call on all governments, industry and civil society to urgently work together towards a common understanding on the main building blocks for a new UN Treaty on plastic pollution, and to agree on establishing an international negotiating committee at UNEA 5.2 in February 2022.

Many leading businesses and 104 national governments have called for a UN Treaty to tackle plastic pollution, and more than 2 million people have signed a public petition. We urge others to join them in supporting a treaty that will enable circular economy solutions to scale globally.

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We have seen important steps taken by businesses and governments in addressing plastic pollution over recent years. More than 500 organisations have signed the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, setting clear targets to achieve a circular economy for plastic in which it never becomes waste or pollution. But voluntary initiatives alone are not enough to solve plastic pollution and we believe governments and policymakers have a vital role to play. A binding global agreement that builds on the vision of a circular economy for plastic can ensure a unified international response to plastic pollution that matches the scale of the problem.

Dame Ellen MacArthur, Founder & Chair of Trustees Ellen MacArthur Foundation

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Over the last few years we have seen growing public demand for action on plastic pollution, with some governments and industries starting to implement voluntary measures on this issue, but this needs better coordination, and the international impetus and recognition that a global treaty would generate. While companies have a clear responsibility to address plastic pollution within their own supply chains wider systemic change is vital. The plastic pollution crisis was created in a single lifetime and can be ended in a single decade. But only if we act now, together.

Cristianne Close, Head of the Markets Practice of WWF International

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For businesses, a global agreement could alleviate operational complexity, simplify reporting, and critically unlock investment across the plastic value chain.

Jesper Nielsen, Leader of Social Impact & Sustainability Practice in Western Europe, Africa & South America, Boston Consulting Group

In August 2021 we published a white paper that sets out the Foundation’s perspective on a new UN treaty to address plastic pollution and support the transition to a circular economy for plastics.