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New global alliance commits over $1.0 billion USD to help
end plastic waste in the environment; sets goal of investing $1.5 billion USD
JANUARY 16, 2019 – An alliance of global companies from the plastics and consumer goods value
chain today launched a new organization to advance solutions to eliminate plastic waste in theenvironment, especially in the ocean.
The cross value chain Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), currently made up of nearly thirty
member companies, has committed over $1.0 billion with the goal of investing $1.5 billion over the next
five years to help end plastic waste in the environment. The Alliance will develop and bring to scale
solutions that will minimize and manage plastic waste and promote solutions for used plastics by helping
to enable a circular economy. The Alliance membership represents global companies and locatedthroughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
“Everyone agrees that plastic waste does not belong in our oceans or anywhere in the environment.
This is a complex and serious global challenge that calls for swift action and strong leadership. This newalliance is the most comprehensive effort to date to end plastic waste in the environment,” said DavidTaylor, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Procter & Gamble, and chairman of the AEPW. “Iurge all companies, big and small and from all regions and sectors, to join us,” he added.
“History has shown us that collective action and partnerships between industry, governments andNGOs can deliver innovative solutions to a global challenge like this,” said Bob Patel, CEO ofLyondellBasell, and a vice chairman of the AEPW. “The issue of plastic waste is seen and felt all over theworld. It must be addressed and we believe the time for action is now.”
The Alliance is a not-for-profit organization that includes companies that make, use, sell, process,collect, and recycle plastics. This includes chemical and plastic manufacturers, consumer goods
companies, retailers, converters, and waste management companies, also known as the plastics value
chain. The Alliance has been working with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development as afounding strategic partner. The Alliance today also announced an initial set of projects andcollaborations that reflect a range of solutions to help end plastic waste:•Partnering with cities to design integrated waste management systems in large urban areas
where infrastructure is lacking, especially those along rivers which transport vast amounts ofunmanaged plastic waste from land to the ocean. This work will include engaging local
governments and stakeholders, and generate economically sustainable and replicable models
that can be applied across multiple cities and regions. The Alliance will pursue partnerships withcities located in high plastic leakage areas. The Alliance will also be looking to collaborate withother programs working with cities, such as Project STOP, which is working in Indonesia.

•Funding The Incubator Network by Circulate Capital to develop and promote technologies,
business models and entrepreneurs that prevent ocean plastic waste and improve waste
management and recycling, with the intention of creating a pipeline of projects for investment,with an initial focus on Southeast Asia.

•Developing an open source, science-based global information project to support waste
management projects globally with reliable data collection, metrics, standards, andmethodologies to help governments, companies, and investors focus on and accelerate actions
to stop plastic waste from entering the environment. The Alliance will explore opportunities topartner with leading academic institutions and other organizations already involved in similartypes of data collection.

•Creating a capacity building collaboration with intergovernmental organizations such as theUnited Nations to conduct joint workshops and trainings for government officials andcommunity-based leaders to help them identify and pursue the most effective and locallyrelevant solutions in the highest priority areas.

•Supporting Renew Oceans to aid localized investment and engagement. The program isdesigned to capture plastic waste before it reaches the ocean from the ten major rivers shownto carry the vast majority of land-based waste to the ocean. The initial work will support theRenew Ganga project, which has also received support from the National Geographic Society.

In the months ahead, the Alliance will make additional investments and drive progress in four keyareas:•Infrastructure development to collect and manage waste and increase recycling;•Innovation to advance and scale new technologies that make recycling and recovering plastics
easier and create value from all post-use plastics;

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Education and engagement of governments, businesses, and communities to mobilize action;
and,•Clean up of concentrated areas of plastic waste already in the environment, particularly themajor conduits of waste, like rivers, that carry land-based plastic waste to the sea.

“Success will require collaboration and coordinated efforts across many sectors – some that createnear-term progress and others that require major investments with longer timelines. Addressing plastic
waste in the environment and developing a circular economy of plastics requires the participation of
everyone across the entire value chain and the long term commitment of businesses, governments, andcommunities. No one country, company or community can solve this on their own,” said Veolia CEO
Antoine Frérot, a vice chairman of the AEPW.
Research from the Ocean Conservancy shows that nearly 80 percent of plastic waste in the ocean
begins as litter on land, the vast majority of which travels to the sea by rivers. In fact one study
estimates that over 90 percent of river borne plastic in the ocean comes from 10 major rivers aroundthe world – eight in Asia, and two in Africa. Sixty percent of plastic waste in the ocean can be sourced tofive countries in Southeast Asia.
“While our effort will be global, the Alliance can have the greatest impact on the problem byfocusing on the parts of the world where the challenge is greatest; and by sharing solutions and bestpractices so that these efforts can be amplified and scaled-up around the world”, said Peter Bakker,
President and CEO of World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
The following companies are the founding members of the Alliance: BASF, Berry Global, Braskem,
Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC, Clariant, Covestro, Dow, DSM, ExxonMobil, Formosa Plastics
Corporation, U.S.A., Henkel, LyondellBasell, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, Mitsui Chemicals, NOVA
Chemicals, OxyChem, PolyOne, Procter & Gamble, Reliance Industries, SABIC, Sasol, SUEZ, Shell, SCG
Chemicals, Sumitomo Chemical, Total, Veolia, and Versalis (Eni).
The live global internet broadcast can be viewed at www.endplasticwaste.org/live. The broadcast
will begin at 14.00 GMT and will last approximately 30 minutes.
For more information, please visit www.endplasticwaste.org###