Investors demand a drastic reduction of plastic from companies like Unilever and Coca-Cola

This call comes from 185 investors, including several Dutch ones, with a combined wealth of $10 trillion, and it targets all intensive users of plastic packaging, particularly supermarket chains and multinationals in the food industry, such as Ahold Delhaize, Unilever, and L’Oréal. The statement was coordinated by the Vereniging van Beleggers voor Duurzame Ontwikkeling (VBDO) and has since made global headlines.

 

The Plastic Soup Foundation welcomes the strong signal these investors are sending. Together with the Eerlijke Geldwijzer, PSF called on investors back in 2019 to take responsibility. In a joint study, we established the direct link between investments in shale gas and plastic production and the increase in plastic pollution. Between 2010 and 2019, the largest banks and insurers invested a staggering $9.3 billion in the 10 largest shale gas and plastic companies.

 

The signatories point out that the entire lifecycle of plastic poses a serious and growing threat to the environment, climate, biodiversity, human rights, and public health. We can no longer continue on the current path of single-use plastic packaging. Failing to act also brings financial risks for the companies addressed, primarily in the form of reputational damage and lawsuits. It is therefore also in their own interest to change course.

 

The statement notes that the existing targets of these companies to reduce plastic use are far from ambitious. And those weak targets are not even being met. Supermarkets must implement systems on a large scale to adopt reusable packaging. Additionally, the packaging industry needs to eliminate hazardous chemicals from plastic. Overall dependence on the plastics industry must be significantly reduced.

 

According to the statement, intensive users—supermarkets and multinationals—play a key role. They must actively support the transition to reduced plastic use, openly back stricter legislation, and stop lobbying against its implementation. The plastic treaty currently being negotiated by the United Nations, the Global Plastics Treaty, presents a historic opportunity to address the issue. The companies being called out must become part of the solution and no longer the cause of the problem.

 

The call focuses on major plastic users, namely supermarkets and food giants. At the same time, the investors, including pension funds PMT & PME, health insurer ACHMEA, and banks TRIODOS and ASN, advocate for a chain-wide approach.

 

Our research from 2019 revealed that the relationship between plastic and shale gas is a blind spot in the investment and financing policies of banks and insurers. The current call also seems to overlook plastic production as a blind spot. The best way to reduce plastic pollution is to produce less plastic, which especially requires engagement with major chemical companies and the fossil fuel industry.