UN plastics treaty: Stall means pollution problem remains

Global efforts to combat plastic pollution faced a setback Aug. 15 as the second segment of the fifth session of the UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution concluded without reaching consensus on a treaty. The treaty, which addresses critical issues such as eliminating plastic pollution at its source, phasing out harmful substances, ensuring a just transition and implementing a full life-cycle approach, was stymied by disagreements among participating nations. A primary point of contention was whether to focus on curbing plastic production at its source or addressing this issue through downstream solutions.

This segment of the discussion may be over, but the urgency of the plastic pollution crisis remains. The International Energy Agency reports that global demand for plastics has doubled since 2000 and is projected to continue its upward trajectory.

This underscores the need for decisive action to mitigate the environmental impact of plastic waste. If an agreement on this action cannot be reached, companies could step up to alleviate some of the impact by adopting renewable plastics. 

Within our ESG Scores and Raw Data, underpinned by the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), we assess whether companies have public sustainable raw materials policies and if those policies include commitments to increase the use of renewable raw materials. We also assess whether companies have renewable raw materials targets and the actual share of renewable raw materials used. 

The CSA is an annual evaluation of sustainability practices covering about 14,000 companies worldwide. In this review, we analyze the sustainable raw materials practices of an average of 2,284 public companies across various industries as part of the 2024 research cycle.

Establishing a sustainable raw materials policy is a foundational step toward increasing recycled plastics use. However, only 10% of the sample group reported having such a policy in place , indicating a significant gap in corporate commitment to addressing plastic pollution.

Of the companies with a policy or program, 60% are committed to increasing their use of renewable raw materials, but only about 38% have established specific targets, as illustrated in figure 1. The number of companies with a policy on sustainable raw materials is relatively modest, and even fewer of them explicitly cover renewable raw materials in their policies. When we narrow our focus to actual data disclosure — such as the percentage of recycled plastic utilized — the number of transparent companies decreases further. Only 158 companies, representing less than 7% of the total assessed group, provided relevant figures, establishing them as leaders in disclosure on this topic. 

Despite these efforts, the average percentage of recycled plastic materials used by leading companies remains a modest 25%, as illustrated in figure 2. Most companies assessed have yet to establish the necessary frameworks for sustainable plastic management, and even those with existing policies and programs are falling short in their implementation.

While some countries may seek to tackle the plastic issue through national legislation, global initiatives are at a standstill — and companies’ efforts seem to be no more effective than intergovernmental ones. The majority of companies in our dataset have yet to establish the policies and programs needed, and even those with such mechanisms in place are performing insufficiently.