- Amundi, Pictet, and Bailard among those signing statement
- Calls for Companies to back plastics treaty efforts
- Single-use plastics, toxic chemicals also targeted
Over 180 investors, who collectively manage $10 trillion in assets, have issued a joint statement through the Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO) organization, urging companies to reduce their reliance on plastics and address the financial risks associated with their use.
The statement primarily targets companies in the fast-moving consumer goods and grocery retail sectors, including Coca-Cola, Costco, P&G, Nestlé, Unilever, and Target, among others. Notable signatories include Amundi, Aviva Investors, AXA IM, LGIM, Mirova, and Rockefeller Asset Management.
The call to action comes as companies and investors face increasing financial, regulatory, legal, reputational, physical, and technological risks associated with plastic pollution. Governments are requiring companies to cover waste management costs, and investments in petrochemical and plastics are becoming stranded assets due to tighter regulations.
In the statement, the investors wrote:
“Plastics imposes an estimated externality cost on society of $US 350 billion per year arising from greenhouse gas emissions, ocean pollution and collection costs – at least US$ 1000 per tonne of plastic produced. As action from policymakers steps up to address the plastics crisis and society demands accountability from corporate actors perpetuating the problem, companies on the value chain are exposed to significant and mounting plastic-related risks.”
To address these risks, the investor statement lays out a set of expectations for companies, including a commitment to reduce single-use plastic packaging and implement reuse systems, identifying and eliminating hazardous substances in products and packaging, reporting on progress, and supporting policies that advocate for reductions in plastic. The statement also calls for support of a new Global Plastics Treaty.
Source: Reuters