Investors managing $10 trln urge faster corporate action on plastics

Metro AG

04/05/2023 13:47

* 
      Amundi, Pictet, Bailard among those signing statement
    

        * 
      Calls for companies to back plastics treaty efforts
    

        * 
      Single-use plastics, toxic chemicals also targeted
    

  
    By Simon Jessop and Helen Reid
       LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - Investors including Pictet and
Amundi managing $10 trillion in assets, signed a statement
urging consumer goods and grocery companies to do more to cut
their use of plastic packaging amid rising costs and risks.
    The group of 185 investors, coordinated by the Dutch
Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO),
said plastics imposed an estimated $350 billion a year in costs
on society from emissions, pollution and collection costs.
    With policymakers increasingly focused on tightening
regulations to address the problem, companies face rising risks
including from bans, taxation, reputational costs and
litigation.
    "As responsible investors, we are concerned that companies
that do not proactively address these risks... may face higher
costs or lose business opportunity, therefore putting long-term
value creation and investment returns at risk," the investors
said.
    Consumer goods companies and retailers including Danone,
L'Oréal, Sainsbury's, Unilever and Walmart in July 2021
committed to changing their plastic packaging design in order to
use less unnecessary plastic and increase recyclability, as part
of the "Plastic Waste Coalition of Action". 
    Just 27% of plastic packaging in the food sector was
reusable, recyclable or compostable in 2021, according to data
on signatories to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Global
Commitment to a circular economy for plastics. 
    The signatories, who represent 20% of all plastic packaging
produced globally, have committed to a target of 100% reusable,
recyclable or compostable plastic packaging by 2025.  
    A 2022 study by the VBDO said more than a third of companies
were still not publishing data on their plastics footprint,
although those to do so included Carrefour  CARR.PA  and Tesco
 TSCO.L . While some, including Metro  B4B.DE , had a target to
reduce total plastic packaging use, most did not.
    Signatories to the statement included Europe's biggest asset
manager Amundi  AMUN.PA , Britain's largest Legal & General
Investment Management  LGEN.L , U.S. investor Bailard and
Swiss-based Pictet.
    With actions taken so far failing to have an impact at the
scale and rate required to meet targets, the investors said they
expected companies to support efforts to agree an ambitious
plastics treaty and advocate for legally binding measures to
reduce production and boost reuse.
    They should also start delivering absolute cuts in use of
single-use packaging; and eliminate the use of toxic chemicals,
of which more than 3,000 have been identified in food packaging,
the statement said. 

 (Reporting by Simon Jessop, additional reporting by Helen
Reid;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
 ((simon.jessop@thomsonreuters.com; +44 (0) 207 542 5052;
Reuters Messaging: Reuters Messaging:
simon.jessop.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))