USA – Nestlé and Walmart and Australian chemical firm, Borealis, have joined the New Plastics Economy, an initiative that brings together key stakeholders with an aim of promoting circular economy in relation to plastic packaging.

The initiative Amcor, The Coca-Cola Company, Danone, L’Oréal, MARS, PepsiCo, Unilever, and Veolia as the core partners and now Nestlé, Walmart and Borealis.

The three new Core Partners are also signatories of the New Plastic Economy Global Commitment, which unites more than 400 organisations behind a common vision of promoting a circuler economy targeting to address plastic waste and pollution at its source.

Commenting on the partnership, Véronique Cremades-Mathis, Global Head of Sustainable Packaging at Nestlé said: “Collaboration and collective action are critical to achieving system-wide change to the way we think about and engage with plastics.

“At Nestlé, we don’t want any of our packaging, including plastics, to become waste or pollution.

“The New Plastics Economy initiative represents an important catalyst on the journey to achieving a circular economy for plastics, and we are pleased to be able to contribute to this work through our expanded role as a core partner.”

This vision of a circular economy for plastic is underpinned by three main actions: to eliminate all problematic and unnecessary plastic items, innovate to ensure that the plastics used are reusable, recyclable, or compostable as well as circulate all the plastic items used.

The Global Environment Facility and the Oak Foundation are the philanthropic funders of the New Plastics Economy initiative. Wendy Schmidt, through The Eric and Wendy Schidt Fund for Strategic Innovation, is the lead philanthropic partner.

Lucrèce Foufopoulos, Borealis Executive Vice President Polyolefins & Innovation & Technology, said: “We are proud and honoured to have been invited to join the other Core Partners of the New Plastics Economy initiative in accelerating the transition to a circular economy for plastics.

“Borealis has made firm commitments to significantly increase the volume and range of our circular plastic solutions.

“We are equally committed to working with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to achieve this essential transformation to a new and circular future of plastics”

Zach Freeze, Senior Director of Sustainability at Walmart, said: “We are excited to join the New Plastics Economy initiative as a Core Partner, which supports our aspirational goal of achieving zero plastic waste.

“Our continued collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation builds upon our work with suppliers to move towards 100% recyclable, reusable, or industrially compostable packaging, use less virgin plastic, and help educate customers on how to recycle more.”