More than 740 investors with $136tr in assets have requested companies account for plastic-related impacts via CDP.

Companies have been asked to disclose on the most problematic plastics production and use: plastic polymers, durable plastics, and plastics packaging. This is the first time disclosure has been requested as the Global Treaty on Plastic Pollution is negotiated, to which corporate action (and understanding of environmental impacts) will be critical.

Using CDP’s online disclosure platform, companies can disclose information on the production and use of the most problematic plastics, such as plastic polymers, durable plastics, and plastic packaging and this data, where publicly disclosed, will be made available from September.

Companies and investors face significant financial, physical, legal, technological, regulatory and reputational risks as a result of the plastic pollution crisis. As regulation is implemented, companies face $100bn annual financial risk if governments require them to cover waste management costs at expected volumes and recyclability; investments in petrochemicals and plastics worth about $400bn are at risk of becoming stranded assets; and near-term exposures (2022-30) to corporate liabilities from plastic-related pollution are material and likely to exceed $20bn.

As such, investors have started to demand that companies disclose plastic-related data. In 2022, six companies, including Amazon, ExxonMobil and McDonald’s, faced shareholder petitions asking for more disclosures on efforts to reduce plastic, according to regulatory disclosures. And in December 2022, 55 financial institutions, including CDP signatories Cardano ACTIAM, Boston Common Asset Management, Triodos Investment Management and Robeco, formed a Plastic Solutions Investor Alliance to engage publicly traded companies on the threat posed

Share Story: