In March 2022 at the fifth session of the UN Environmental Assembly, 175 nations passed Resolution 5/14 to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. This resolution requested the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to convene an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop an instrument which would “be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full cycle of plastic, including its production, design, and disposal.” The goal is to complete the negotiations by the end of this year. The INC has held four sessions. The hope is that the treaty will be agreed in the fifth session on November 25—December 1 in Busan, Republic of Korea.

Discarded plastic waste. Environmental pollution and ecological problems concept. GETTY

When it comes to the environment, climate is the overwhelmingly dominant issue in the public discourse. Biodiversity/Nature loss is rapidly arising as a topic and there is a clear relationship between the two. Relatively less general attention has been paid to plastic, but those who know about this issue realize it is an enormously important one that has devastating effects on climate and biodiversity—and thus all of us. A 2022 OECD report estimates that global plastic waste will triple by 2060, from 353 million tons (Mt) in 2019 to 1,014 Mt in 2060. In addition to the serious problems created for human and other life forms from plastic pollution in land and water (as discussed in this short video by Sir David Attenborough), are its implications for global warming. As noted by Shardul Agrawala, Head of the Environment and Economic Integration Division of the OECD Environment Directorate, “GHG emissions from plastics production and end of life are projected to double to 4.3 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents of GHG emissions in 2060.”

Where do all these plastics come from? According to UNEP, about 400 million metric tons of plastic is produced every year, with packaging, such as single-use plastic products for food and beverage containers, as the biggest end market for the material—over one-third of all plastic being produced. Plastic is certainly widely used by the consumer goods industry, so I sat down with some notable CEOs to understand what they are looking for from this plastics treaty.

The CEOs I spoke to are among the 230+ members (including companies, financial institutions, and NGOs) of the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty (the Coalition) which was convened by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the World Wildlife Fund. The coalition’s objective is to bring together a diverse group of organizations “with a shared ambition towards a circular economy for plastic, and a strong commitment to support an effective, legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution.”

Fisk Johnson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SC Johnson. | SC Johnson

What leaps out to me is the last point in the sentence, “legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution” and so I’ve marked it in bold. While admittedly a sweeping generalization, companies aren’t typically eager to embrace regulation, let alone regulation based on a legally binding treaty supported by most of the world’s governments. But in my recent article in the Harvard Business Review, “Moving Beyond ESG,” I note that “regulation is the primary way in which negative externalities are mitigated.” And plastic pollution is currently a big negative externality. Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of global manufacturing company SC Johnson, is clear that regulation is the main lever we need to pull. “You need everyone in the plastic ecosystem working together at scale to solve the issue. The only real way to do that is through regulation, both on an international level and a country level,” he told me.

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