Study: A Critical Gap in Private Capital Directed Towards Tackling Plastic Pollution

SINGAPORE-- The Circulate Initiative has launched a new global edition of the Plastics Circularity Investment Tracker, the world's first tool to track the scale of private investments into the plastics circular economy. The findings reveal that nearly 90% of all investment since 2018 went to North America and Europe, developed economies that offer a stable investment and supportive policy environment, despite the top 20 countries for ocean plastic leakage being emerging economies.

Assessing over 3,700 deals occurring in 91 countries between 2018 and the first six months of 2023, over US$160 billion in private capital has been directed to the plastics circular economy, which equates to approximately US$29 billion annually. While encouraging, it is significantly below the US$60 billion of annual investment needed under the systems change scenario which reduces plastic leakage to the ocean by around 80% by 2040.

"Addressing the scale of the plastic waste crisis will require concerted and collaborative action from stakeholders and investors. Global data from the Plastics Circularity Investment Tracker demonstrates the crucial need to drive more capital to emerging markets, where plastic pollution is at its most severe." said Umesh Madhavan, Research Director, The Circulate Initiative. "This month, global leaders will meet at the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting to discuss the legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. We hope that these insights will be a timely call to action to address the urgent need to scale capital flow towards plastic circularity solutions, particularly in those markets most impacted by plastic pollution."    

The second edition of the Plastics Circularity Investment Tracker expands the coverage of the tool beyond emerging markets to provide global data, including a new feature for comparing investments across countries, across the value chain, and investment categories.

Additional key findings reveal the following:

Michael Sadowski, Executive Director, The Circulate Initiative, said, "By identifying the solutions and regions receiving funding, as well as insights into investor and transaction landscapes, our goal is to enable decision-makers to better identify opportunities to scale solutions to unlock the full potential of a circular economy. Not only is there a gap in funding for emerging markets, we also need more capital to be directed towards innovative solutions designed to replace fossil-fuel based plastics."

About The Circulate Initiative 

The Circulate Initiative is a non-profit organization that works to solve the plastic pollution challenge and build circular and equitable economies across emerging markets. It delivers cutting-edge research, builds high-impact programs, and drives collective action with industry stakeholders including businesses, investors, and policymakers. For more information, please visit: https://www.thecirculateinitiative.org/  

About the Plastics Circularity Investment Tracker

The Plastics Circularity Investment Tracker is the first tool of its kind globally that measures and characterizes private investments into the plastics circular economy. Initially launched in early 2023 to track investments into emerging markets, the updated tracker now covers all markets globally. In April 2023, it was awarded ESG Assessment Tool of the Year at the Sustainable Investment Awards hosted by Environmental Finance Magazine.

SOURCE The Circulate Initiative