RB announces today that it has recently signed up to the New Plastics Economy initiative, led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and WRAP's UK Plastics Pact - furthering its commitment to develop new ways of reducing, replacing, reusing and recycling plastics.
Plastic pollution: a defining issue of our times
Unless significant change happens now, experts predict that by 2050 the weight of plastic in the oceans will be greater than that of fish [source]. Solutions to such a complex challenge require cross-industry collaboration. RB’s announcement to join the New Plastics Economy initiative and UK Plastics Pact reflects just that, with RB reinforcing its commitment to developing pragmatic solutions that can work at scale.
The New Plastics Economy is a global initiative devoted to redesigning the future of plastics. Drawing on the principles of the circular economy, this means moving away from the current model of “take, make, dispose”. It also means that players from all areas of the plastics industry must come together to envisage new ways in which materials can be designed, from inception, to be easily reusable and recyclable, while also meeting consumer needs.
As part of its collaboration with the New Plastics Economy, RB has become a signatory of the Global Commitment, launched at the Our Ocean conference in Bali earlier today.
The UK Plastics Pact, led by WRAP, is the first of a network of such agreements, enabled by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative, aimed at transforming how the UK deals with plastics by bringing together key UK stakeholders. The network will help create a system in which plastics are designed to stay in the economy and not become waste or environmental pollutants.
RB: inspiring positive change
As a major multinational consumer goods company, RB’s first priority, wherever possible, is to reduce its packaging through innovation. Furthermore, it is committed to creating packaging that can be recycled more easily and helping to educate consumers on the responsible disposal of plastics.
Prioritising these initiatives means working with partners – such as governments, not-for-profits, retailers, consumers and waste-management companies – to develop effective ways of using and recycling plastics. As such, RB welcomes the opportunity for innovative cross-industry collaboration in order to drive the necessary technical, structural, behavioural and cultural change.
Miguel Veiga-Pestana, SVP Global Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at RB, commented:
“We are excited to join two leading organisations who will help us meet our plastics commitment. Alone, RB will never solve the global plastics challenge. Only through partnerships such as those announced today will we be able to truly deliver the change we all need.”
"To tackle plastic pollution at the source, we need to eliminate the plastic we don't need and innovate so the plastic we do need can easily and safely be reused, recycled, or composted. It is good to see that RB is making commitments to move in that direction. The New Plastics Economy initiative looks forward to working together with RB at the global level, as well as at national level in the UK Plastics Pact.” - Sander Defruyt, Lead of the New Plastics Economy initiative at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, said.
Marcus Gover, CEO, WRAP, said: “We are delighted to have RB sign up to The UK Plastics Pact. Through our first-of-a-kind Pact we will work together with governments, citizens and business to transform the way we make, use and dispose of plastic so that we retain its value, particularly in reducing food and drink waste, but prevent it from polluting the environment.”
For further information, please see a detailed statement here.