Last week, at INC-4 in Ottawa, Canada, the UN Plastics Convention reached the final stage of negotiations to develop a legally binding international agreement to tackle plastic pollution throughout its lifecycle. The fifth and final round of negotiations is expected to be completed by the end of this year, with the agreement set to be formally ratified in 2025.
This treaty is a unique opportunity to unleash the potential of companies to solve the plastic crisis. Its success is crucial: without new effective measures, the production of new plastic is expected to double by 2040. Only 10% of plastic is currently recycled, and 19 to 23 million tons of plastic end up in rivers, lakes and oceans every year. Moreover, greenhouse gas emissions from plastic production, management and disposal account for about 3.3% of global emissions. Exposure to plastic also affects human health, with traces of plastic found in the blood.
Fortunately, there is global agreement on the urgent need to end this ecological and environmental crisis, which is why 160 countries and hundreds of watchdog organizations are working together to seize this unique opportunity to end plastic pollution.
A treaty covering the entire plastics value chain
The existing plastics ecosystem is highly fragmented: in the current situation, capital flows fund the creation of virgin polymers, while linear material flows keep new plastics coming to market.
With production and consumption regulations at its core, the negotiations take into account every step of the plastics value chain, from the creation of the primary polymers to how plastic waste is managed. They also cover product design-in for plastic reduction and recycling, and extended producer responsibility to increase the accountability of the most polluting entities while ensuring a just transition for affected communities.
It's an ambitious project: it involves achieving circularity through product redesign, repair, reuse and recycling, and making recycled polymers more economically viable than virgin plastics.
The treaty will create new jobs, markets and business opportunities. It will accelerate research and development into plastic alternatives to eliminate health-harming pollutants released at every stage of plastic production. It will also require the evolution of waste management systems to address the legacy of plastic waste.
SAP Supports Business Coalition
The Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, hosted by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and WWF, brings together companies and financial institutions committed to supporting the development of an ambitious, effective and legally binding UN treaty to end plastic pollution.
“Ending plastic pollution requires both ambitious government policies and accelerated action from companies. A global plastics treaty provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to put in place the right legally binding rules, measures and incentives to tackle this global problem,” said Rob Opsomer, executive lead for Plastics and Finance at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
The Global Plastics Treaty Business Coalition, with more than 200 members including SAP, calls for global business rules backed by uniform regulations to address the entire lifecycle of plastic products. This will ensure a level playing field globally and make it easier for companies and investors to scale both upstream and downstream solutions, mobilize the right investments, and support new innovations.
“SAP software has played a key role in helping our customers manage material flows, including plastics, for decades,” said Natasha Pergl, global sustainability lead for SAP consumer products. “We understand firsthand the challenges our customers face in managing today's complex and fragmented regulations that make it difficult to understand current material flows and align upstream efforts with downstream solutions.”
SAP seeks harmony
Achieving systemic change requires cooperation and co-innovation that hinges on effective and well-functioning communication. Software and network technologies will play a central role in bridging the digital divide and operationalizing an inclusive plastics ecosystem. The treaty should lay the foundation for harmonized regulation and simplified information flows to accelerate the implementation of global rules.
To achieve this, four key elements are needed:
- Common definitions for plastics and packaging to ensure mutual understanding and interoperabilityThis applies to the classification of different plastic polymers, to the construction and naming of products, and to the way products are packaged and sold.
- Harmonization of the entire life cycle of plastics, including product design standards, extended producer responsibility systems, and assessment of recyclabilityThis will enable companies to design for circularity and recyclability, ensure strategic decisions are based on the capacity of existing downstream infrastructure, and highlight where new capital investments are needed.
- Harmonization of national disclosure regimes to ensure uniformity, comparability and transparency of informationThis is essential to provide investors and regulators with an informed basis for policy direction and decision-making, and it will also enable businesses to harness the full potential of AI-driven innovation and accelerate solutions at scale.
- Recognising the role of digital tools for traceabilityImproved data and the application of digital tracking will enable real progress.
“The treaty's goals are ambitious, but an agreement focused on product design and materials fate, extended producer responsibility regimes and global rules covering chemicals of concern will unleash the power of global business to deliver the solutions needed. Importantly, SAP has the processes and systems in place to help companies quickly grasp opportunities to end plastic pollution and scale their impact,” said Steven Jamieson, global head of circular economy solutions at SAP.
Software solutions such as SAP Responsible Design and Production and SAP Green Token already enable companies to monitor, measure, and act to help design products for a more sustainable and circular economy. But to achieve systemic change, more effective information flows must be enabled and collaboration and innovation improved.
The role of AI
A clear benefit of agreed common terminology and harmonization of standards and disclosure rules is that it opens the door for companies to leverage AI. Envisioned applications in the production process include reducing virgin polymers and improving material and supply chain efficiency. Downstream uses such as waste sorting, material recovery, quality control, identifying trends in waste streams and predictive analytics will also become possible.
A bold approach
The discussions in Ottawa were productive and focused on reducing and limiting plastic production. During the talks, Rwanda and Peru tabled a motion to reduce global production of primary plastic polymers by 40% by 2040, with a 2025 baseline. Their vision is to make this legally binding, like the Paris Agreement to limit global warming.
Data clarity and robust systems for information sharing are essential for companies to implement such treaties. Only by connecting data points across entire supply chains and jurisdictions can a complete picture of material flows and emission sources be achieved.
Work continues towards INC-5 in Busan, South Korea, in November, when a final document is expected to be agreed before being ratified in 2025.
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Heather Davis is a brand journalist.
