Borealis joins NGOs and businesses' call for UN treaty on plastic pollution

• New report by WWF, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Boston Consulting Group finds that a new international treaty on plastic pollution will benefit both the environment and business, and would complement existing initiatives – accelerating global efforts to tackle the eradication of plastic pollution.
• Borealis is one of 29 major businesses who have signed a manifesto calling for a global treaty and others are being urged to join.
• A resolution to start negotiations on a treaty is expected to be tabled at an upcoming UN conference, with businesses and NGOs agreeing that “there is no time to waste”.
• WWF, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Boston Consulting Group are recommending a binding international treaty to address plastic pollution, and calls on UN member states to urgently start negotiations.

Borealis is one of the 29 major businesses who issued a call today for a UN treaty on plastic pollution to address the fragmented landscape of regulation and complement existing voluntary measures, supporting the existing call from leading NGOs including WWF and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation for this important international agreement.

In a joint report, The Business Case for a UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution, WWF, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Boston Consulting Group conclude that despite a doubling of voluntary initiatives and national regulations over the last five years, plastic waste continues to leak into the environment at alarming rates – with more than 11 million tonnes of plastic flowing into our oceans each year. There is an urgent need to amplify current efforts through a more coordinated and ambitious approach.

The report sets out the opportunity for a new global UN treaty on plastic pollution to significantly accelerate progress towards a circular economy for plastics. Through the establishment of a common structure it would set a clear direction and conditions, giving governments and businesses the impetus to move forward more decisively. The report’s authors argue that a global agreement setting out global goals and binding targets, together with national action plans and consistent measurement is needed to harmonise policy efforts, enhance investment planning, stimulate innovation and coordinate infrastructure development. While voluntary initiatives can deliver change among market leaders, an international binding approach is needed to deliver the necessary industry scale change.

The business manifesto calling for a new treaty is open to new signatories at www.plasticpollutiontreaty.org. WWF, Ellen MacArthur Foundation and BCG are urging more companies to join the call.

For more information please read the original report here.

Media contact:

WWF International:
news@wwfus.org

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation:
pressoffice@emf.org