The three organisations have been individually running national level initiatives to tackle plastic pollution since 2018, which today collectively span more than twenty countries. Now, to help accelerate their shared vision for a circular economy for plastics, the organisations are looking to collaborate more closely, by sharing learnings and best practices across their entire network on a regular basis.
This pre-competitive mindset will allow those coordinating action on the ground to have access to best practices from different initiatives across the world.
It will also help nations prepare the groundwork for the seismic shift in the way plastic is produced and used, which is expected to occur with the ratification of the International legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution by mid-2025.
Negotiations for the Global Plastics Treaty started last November, and are expected to create unprecedented pressure on country level public and private stakeholders to assess their plastic use and design pathways for addressing pollution.
There are currently thirteen Plastics Pacts around the world – ANZPAC (Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Island), Canada, Chile, Europe, France, India, Kenya, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, the UK and the US - and a new Pact in development in Colombia. In addition, there are National Plastic Action Partnerships, (developed by the World Economic Forum under the GPAP project) in Indonesia, Vietnam, Pakistan, Maharashtra (India), Nigeria, Ghana, Ecuador, South Africa and Mexico City (Mexico).
Each of these initiatives convenes key stakeholders across sectors to implement solutions towards a circular economy for plastics, tailored to their specific geography. Stakeholders include businesses, government institutions and civil society, NGOs, and citizens.
Specific actions that national initiatives have been working on include, for example, private-sector action to meet reduction, reuse and recyclability targets and for national baseline assessment and scenario modelling tools - as well as support for the development of national action plans and financing roadmaps.
