Over recent years, Ethical Partners has engaged with portfolio companies to address plastic use and the transition to a circular economy in recognition of potential risks from plastic pollution as well the impacts it has on nature. We have also been active members in PRI’s Circular Economy Reference Group (formerly, the PRI Plastics Working Group) and endorsed “The Business Call for a UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution.”
Ethical Partners are proud to continue our advocacy on plastic pollution by joining 160 financial institutions from 29 countries in signing the Finance Statement on Plastic Pollution. The statement, which was published as the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee is set to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, calls on governments to establish an ambitious, science-based framework that supports the private finance sector to beat plastic pollution. It further calls for:
Urgent action to address plastic pollution is needed where it is estimated that one garbage truck of plastic is currently discarded into our oceans every minute and where plastic is projected to account for 10-13% of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 under a business-as-usual scenario. The adverse consequences of plastic use and pollution also extends to harms on human health with microplastics now being found in human blood. Ethical Partners recognise that ending plastic pollution can only be achieved by system change. By endorsing the statement, we reaffirm our commitment set out in our Climate Change, Natural Capital, and Environmental Factors Investment Policy to consider and incorporate the risks of plastic pollution in our company assessments. We will also continue our ongoing stewardship activities to address plastic pollution.
Read more about the statement here.
