Are We Finally Going to Get a Global Plastics Treaty?

November 25, 2024

undefined mins

Plastics pollution

As negotiations in South Korea enter their final week, Unilever, Danone, SAP and Nestlé are among companies calling for firm rules, not a voluntary treaty

A battalion of big businesses has lined up to demand definitive global plastics regulations, not a voluntary treaty, as five weeks of negotiations comes to a close in South Korea.

Negotiations on a UN treaty to end plastic pollution are entering their fifth and final planned stage at Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee-5 in Busan.

Unilever is among many businesses that are lobbying for certainty, not guidelines that can be avoided.

Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher said: “Fragmented, slow and costly… or coordinated, fast and cost effective? This is the choice governments have in Busan when they meet to finalise the plastics treaty at INC-5.

“Either a voluntary treaty that will lead to further regulatory fragmentation, causing additional cost and complexity to business.

“Or a treaty underpinned by global rules – one that harmonises regulations and supports business to unlock solutions to plastic pollution at the scale and speed we urgently require.

“Business needs global rules.”

Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher

A ‘once in a generation’ opportunity

Scores of the world’s largest companies signed a letter to the UN, calling for:

Global criteria and lists that enable the restriction and phase out of chemicals of concern as well as problematic and avoidable plastic products
Sector-specific approaches and global criteria for circular product design of plastic products, such as packaging
Common definitions and key principles for the effective implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes
A strong mandate for the governing body to strengthen the agreement over time.

Unilever, which has been among the most vocal businesses, says governments must agree a “legally binding treaty – underpinned by global rules – that covers the entire lifecycle of plastic products”.

It adds: “This will avoid the current disconnected national efforts and create a level playing field across the global economy.

“A treaty would help simplify supply chains, scale existing solutions and spur further innovation.”

How close are we to a deal?

At the UN Environment Assembly in 2022, 175 countries agreed to begin negotiations on a UN treaty to end plastic pollution.

The aim was for the text of the treaty to be finalised this year.

Unilever says it and others have “laid the pathway for change on plastic pollution through voluntary initiatives” and set out a collective strategy for industry to play its role in tackling the problem.

It adds: “But voluntary initiatives alone aren’t enough. More interventions are needed across the full lifecycle of plastic: both upstream (for example, raw material extraction and production) and downstream (segregation, collection, sorting, recycling and disposal).

“Voluntary initiatives also distort the market because they often lead to higher costs. This means that companies taking action are at a competitive disadvantage compared to those not taking action.”

Unilever says a legally binding treaty underpinned by global rules would create a level playing field, simplify supply chains, scale existing solutions and spur further innovation.

Ramon Laguarta, Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo (Credit : PepsiCo/ Amanda Taraska)

Lobbying by letter

Unilever co-chairs the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty which aims to give confidence to governments that businesses and financial institutions want harmonised global rules and regulations.

Members of the Coalition, a group of 250+ global businesses, financial institutions and NGOs, wrote to world leaders ahead of the summit.

They said: “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.”

They add: “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.”

Signatories include: