Coca-Cola, Pepsi And Nestlé Among Dozens Of Brands Calling Out

International brands, including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, called Monday for a global agreement to combat plastic pollution that includes reducing plastic production, which remains a key growth area in the oil industry at the moment.

Officials from around the world will attend the resumed fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) in February to negotiate an agreed treaty to address the plastic waste crisis. The plastic waste crisis is causing landfills everywhere to overflow, ocean space to be plundered and polluted, and wildlife to die.

It is unclear whether the agreement reached then will focus on waste plastic management and recycling or whether it will take tougher measures such as restricting new plastic production, the latter of which is likely to face resistance from major oil and chemical companies and major plastic producing countries such as the US.

Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Unilever and Nestle are among the consumer goods companies that signed Monday's joint statement on the use of single-use plastics for packaging for a range of goods sold by these companies, from shampoo to chocolate bars. Leading global retailers such as Wal-Mart and financial institutions such as BNP Paribas also signed the statement.

We are at a critical point in time when an ambitious UN treaty is needed to promote collaboration on systemic solutions and accelerate the global transition to a circular economy," the statement said.

The UN Environment 5.2 conference is a decisive and most instrumental moment to reverse the global plastic pollution crisis. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity."

The statement calls on UN member states at UNEA 5.2 to establish an intergovernmental negotiating committee to develop a legally binding international agreement on combating plastic pollution, including the following points.

Cover upstream and downstream policies aimed at keeping plastics in the economy (cycle) rather than in the environment, reducing the production and use of virgin plastics and decoupling plastic production from the consumption of fossil resources.

Establishing a clear policy direction will enable governments, businesses and civil society to develop a common understanding of the causes of plastic pollution and to adopt a common approach to address these issues. For businesses and investors, this will create a level playing field and prevent a patchwork of unrelated solutions, while creating the right enabling conditions for the circular economy to be practiced and scaled up.

Provide a sound governance structure to ensure participation and compliance by all countries and provide common definitions and harmonised standards applicable to all countries. This will help to scale up investment in innovation, infrastructure and technology in the countries and industries that need international support the most.