The Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, supported by 250 businesses globally and co-chaired by Unilever, has endorsed the Bridge to Busan Declaration calling on governments worldwide to agree on a global objective to achieve sustainable levels of virgin plastic production.

The Bridge to Busan Declaration on Primary Plastic Polymers outlines three key goals: sustainable production levels of primary plastic polymers, transparency in their production, and a global objective regarding their sustainable production. The Business Coalition acknowledges the need to reduce plastic production and use through a circular economy approach, focusing on high-leakage, short-lived plastics, and those made from fossil-based virgin resources.

The Coalition insists on including production in the scope of the plastics treaty, allowing the Conference of the Parties (COP) to adopt future decisions and governments to act on them, although Unilever said it also remains open to discussing the appropriate type of science-based objectives and measures required for change.

The Business Coalition's roadmap towards an effective global plastics treaty suggests actions such as reporting on the type and quantity of plastic polymers produced in each country, improving national policies for sustainable consumption and production of plastics, and adopting a global set of targets to strengthen national efforts over time.

"The plastics treaty should allow the Conference of the Parties (COP) to adopt a global set of quantitative and qualitative targets to strengthen national efforts over time, supporting our desired global outcomes on reduction, circulation, prevention and remediation," Unilever stated. "As part of national implementation plans, the treaty should be able to drive the adoption of economic incentives and regulatory mechanisms to enable the transition to a circular economy, leading to an overall reduction of plastic production and use."

The Business Coalition represents over 250 businesses, financial institutions, and NGOs across the plastics value chain including BNP Paribas, Amcor, 3M, Beiersdorf, Aldi, Cathay, Coca-Cola Company, Danone, Ikea, L'oreal, Lego, PepsiCo, Reckitt, Mondelez, Nestle, Mars, Walmart, Starbucks, and SC Johnson.