3,162 companies from around the world disclosed plastic-related data for the “first time” through global environmental disclosure platform CDP, ahead of Global Plastics Treaty negotiations.
Major companies including Unilever, Sumitomo Chemical and Johnson & Johnson have disclosed information on their production, use, and disposal of the most problematic plastics. The announcement comes as UN member state policymakers meet in Nairobi for INC-3, the third of five negotiation sessions for the Global Plastics Treaty.
Companies, including listed companies with over US$ 31 trillion in market capitalisation value, reported the production, use, and disposal of plastic polymers, durable plastics, and plastic packaging across their value chains. The full findings from CDP’s first year of plastics disclosure are set to be released in the spring of 2024.
The Global Plastics Treaty aims to create an internationally legally binding instrument to address plastic pollution. One of the options being considered during negotiations is the inclusion of mandatory corporate disclosure as a tool for national monitoring and reporting.
Pietro Bertazzi, Global Director for Policy Engagement and External Affairs at CDP, commented: “Disclosure is vital for tracking toward Treaty aims, but it must be made mandatory to be effective. Mandatory disclosure can prevent loopholes and ensure policymakers have access to the insight they need to develop impactful, evidence-based policies that drive private sector action.
Disclosure is vital for tracking toward Treaty aims, but it must be made mandatory to be effective.
“It also creates a level playing field for companies in today’s highly-competitive business environment, enabling them to understand their impacts in terms of plastic pollution, the risks they face, the opportunities available to them, and where to take action.”
48 financial institutions with over US$3.5 trillion in assets under management, including Coller Capital and Green Century Funds, have also signed an open letter to governments calling for the inclusion of mandatory corporate disclosure in the Global Plastics Treaty.
Executive Secretary of the INC Secretariat, Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, told UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) that the goal of the INC process is to complete negotiations on an international legally binding global instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, by the end of 2024.
Following the last round of UN plastic treaty talks in Paris, participating countries agreed to develop a first draft of the agreement on plastic pollution by November 2023, which included reduction, reuse, refill and repair targets.
The “Zero draft text of the international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment” was published in September by UNEP. National delegates are set to debate on which possible policies and actions to include in a legally binding treaty during negotiations in Nairobi.
