Packaging and paper multinational Mondi, alongside 80 other global businesses, has endorsed a common vision to create a circular economy, in which plastic never becomes waste or pollution, and the value of products and materials is retained in the economy.

The newly formed Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty endorsed a common vision for an effective and ambitious United Nations Global Treaty to End Plastic Pollution across the plastics value chain, financial institutions and nongovernmental organisations.

The vision will form the basis for future policy engagements with governments through the coalition, which was convened by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and aims to develop ambitious policy recommendations, engage with treaty negotiators, and build confidence in the business community on the benefits and necessity of an effective global plastics treaty.

“Global challenges such as plastic pollution require global answers. Mondi is proud to join this international coalition, because we understand that collaboration is vital to drive progress at scale. With our 'paper where possible, plastic when useful' approach, we advocate a holistic approach to sustainability, which is in line with the vision for a circular economy for plastics,” says Mondi Flexible Packaging CEO Thomas Ott.

In April, the agreement on the adoption of a mandate for an International Negotiating Committee to develop a legally binding treaty marked an important milestone, he highlights.

The new business coalition aims to provide a clear voice in the treaty negotiations to amplify the call for an ambitious and effective treaty to end plastic pollution, and will remain active until the multilateral negotiations on the treaty conclude in 2024.

Plastic pollution represents a growing issue, which resulted in this global call to jointly protect the future of our marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Mondi works with various customers and collaborates with multiple cross-industry organisations to drive progress and support the transition to a circular economy for plastics, the company says.

Mondi signed up to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Global Commitment in 2018, which works towards eliminating plastic pollution and creating 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable plastic packaging by 2025.

Through its sustainability framework, Mondi has committed to making 100% of its packaging and paper solutions reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025, which is currently at 78%, based on revenue and from applying Mondi’s Path to Circularity Scorecard criteria.