WRAP available at INC4 to comment on how to scale up impact on tackling plastic pollution.

At INC4, WRAP delegates are available to discuss the benefits of voluntary Plastics Pacts to the Global Plastics Treaty:

• Plastics Pacts have built a strong network of stakeholders taking accountable action at a national, regional and global level.

• By collaborating on action and having evidence-based decision-making, Plastics Pacts are creating a positive impact on people and the planet. • We need an ambitious global treaty with legally binding actions, in order to have scaled up impact.

• The Plastics Pact Network is aligned to elements of the Treaty and is an effective route to successfully deliver impact.

WRAP at INC4

WRAP and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation are co-hosting the event ‘Plastics Pact Network, 6 Years In: Lessons learned in demonstrating action’ with the governments of Chile and UK on Wednesday 24 April to:

• Inspire further action on tackling plastic pollution by showing through the achievements of the Plastics Pact Network that at-scale progress is possible

• Highlight challenges encountered by voluntary action and potential policy measures that the Global Plastics Treaty can unlock

• Share learnings and industry alignment from the Plastics Pact Network which can feed into potential intersessional work

During this event, we will also preview the forthcoming report ‘Plastics Pacts – Scaling Impact’.  The executive summary and policy brief will be released on this date; the main report will follow in June.

Implementing a Global Plastics Treaty will need robust and coordinated action that connects policy with governments and businesses at national level. The Plastics Pact Network is a proven and well-established collaborative action platform that brings together public, private and civil sectors to tackle plastic pollution, and is uniquely placed to inform and enable policymaking and the implementation of the treaty.

The Plastics Pacts are delivering impact on the ground and at scale towards eliminating plastic waste and pollution. Highlights from the Plastics Pact Network include:

• Eliminating over 360,000 tonnes of problematic and unnecessary plastics, meaning tens of billions of items have been removed from circulation. 

• Redesigning more than 850,000 thousand tonnes of plastic packaging into being reusable, recyclable and compostable at scale. 

• Increasing the recycled content in packaging by 44%, meaning that over 2.2 million tonnes of virgin plastic were avoided in 2022.

By delivering impact on the ground, Plastics Pacts will continue to be a driving force of local, collaborative action around the world, informing and complementing national policy and a Global  Plastics Treaty. 

WRAP’s Delegation: available for interview and comment

WRAP’s delegation at INC4 will be in Ottawa until 27^th April. WRAP has observer status for the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations so our delegation will be attending the official events and participating in various side events. They are available for interview and comment.

• Peter Skelton, Senior Strategic Partnerships Manager WRAP

Peter has worked extensively with major business partners on WRAP’s voluntary agreements on packaging and food waste reduction. He led the development, business recruitment and launch of The UK Plastic Pact – the first of a global network of Pacts to help tackle plastic waste and develop a circular economy for plastic packaging. Since 2019, Peter has led on the expansion and strengthening of the Plastics Pact Network. He was instrumental in the launch of Pacts in South Africa, Kenya and India.

Peter has worked on topics including packaging recyclability guidance, biopolymers, home compostable packaging, on-pack recycling label, recycled PET (rPET) in packaging and numerous packaging optimisation and recyclability projects.

• Andrea Cino, Senior International Partnerships Manager WRAP

Andrea works across the different countries where we have plastics initiatives. She has worked with governments supporting the development of national programmes and policies for sustainable production and consumption, and with businesses to improve the sustainability of the life cycle of products as well as on behaviour change projects to encourage more sustainable consumption. Her work focuses on supporting our partners in building and delivering collaborative initiatives promoting the circular economy for plastics, encompassing upstream and downstream strategies, in countries including Chile, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, U.S., Canada, Europe, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Malaysia. 

• Helen Bird, Head of Material System Transformation WRAP  

Helen is responsible for WRAPs award winning voluntary agreements across plastics and textiles.  Since 2005 WRAP has led voluntary commitments with a history of rapid transformation, tackling some of the planets biggest environmental challenges. Within Helen’s team are the technical experts who develop the evidence and strategies of the voluntary agreements, working in tandem with a team of passionate business account managers to ensure rapid action where it matters most. And while business activity is at the heart of the commitments, it is supported by WRAPs work on citizen behaviour change, local authority services and government policy.

• Leah Karrer, Executive Director of WRAP in the Americas

Leah Karrer directs the work of WRAP in the Americas, which recently opened its office in Washington to coordinate work with projects in North, Central and South America. Leah brings 25 years of experience and a deep passion for fostering circular solutions through business practices, government policies, and consumer behaviour change. Prior to joining WRAP, Leah developed the Global Environment Facility’s portfolio of circular economy related projects, including a suite of over $200M plastic pollution reducing projects in 20 countries. In this position, she served on the advisory boards of the WRI-hosted Platform for Accelerating a Circular Economy and the WEF hosted Global Plastic Action Partnership Program.  

While serving as Deputy Chief Economist and previously International Affairs Specialist at NOAA, Leah earned the U.S. Department of Commerce Bronze Award. While directing the marine science program at Conservation International, Leah earned the Head in the Sky Award for her leadership of the $12M science-to-action program in five countries.

If you would like to speak with one of our delegation, please contact:  Rachel Avery, Media & PR Specialist – [email protected] - 07540513407