Circular economy in Davos
Last week saw leaders from government, business and economics, celebrities and global media gather for the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos under the theme ‘Creating a shared future in a fractured world’. Highlights for the Foundation included awarding $1 million to five winners of the Circular Materials Challenge, part of the New Plastics Economy Innovation Prize, and the announcement that 11 leading companies are working towards using 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025 or earlier.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the list of leading brands, retailers, and packaging companies working towards using 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025 or earlier has grown to 11 – Amcor, Ecover, evian, L’Oréal, Mars, M&S, PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company, Unilever, Walmart, and Werner & Mertz – together representing more than 6 million tonnes of plastic packaging per year.
Paul Polman, CEO Unilever, said: “It is welcome news that many other major companies are making their own commitments to address ocean plastic waste. Yet as a consumer goods industry, we need to go much further, much faster, in addressing the challenge of single use plastics by leading a transition away from the linear take-make-dispose model of consumption, to one which is truly circular by design.”
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is calling for the whole industry to follow their lead. As a second step, industry pioneers must ensure their packaging is being recycled, reused or composted in practice, and is made of recycled content.
