Singapore’s Alliance to End Plastic Waste and Switzerland’s Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM) have revealed their plans to develop a circular plastic fund.
The fund will seek $500 million from institutional and other investors to support scalable solutions to remove plastic waste from the environment, enhance recycling, and accelerate the global transition to a circular economy for the plastic value chain, according to the Alliance. “The Alliance will serve as a cornerstone investor in the fund,” according to the Alliance.
“Our goal in cooperating with Lombard Odier on a circular plastic strategy is to increase investments in solutions that can help stop plastic waste and contribute to a circular economy,” says Jacob Duer, the Alliance’s president and CEO. “The plan integrates the plastic value chain’s collective intellect with money, bringing much-needed answers to scale.” I’m certain that this will serve to draw financial market attention to the investment potential that plastic circularity represents, as well as accelerate different sources of funding for investments in circular waste solutions.”
“Is approach creates a strong investment opportunity,” says Jean-Pascal Porcherot, co-head of LOIM. It will look for opportunities across the private equity spectrum, including direct and co-investment partnerships, with the goal of reducing plastic waste challenges around the world while delivering attractive financial returns and long-term sustainability.”
The Alliance has given LOIM the task of “building and managing the fund with the goal of achieving beneficial environmental, social, and economic impact while generating attractive financial returns,” according to the Alliance.
According to the group, the move to a circular value chain for plastic packaging represents a possible $1 trillion worldwide economic opportunity by 2030, based on “industry estimations.”
Based on “industry estimates,” the group claims that moving to a circular value chain for plastic packaging might result in a $1 trillion global economic opportunity by 2030.
The new fund will focus on infrastructure for collecting and sorting, technology-enabled recycling infrastructure, and design solutions for increased plastic durability, reuse, and recyclability. According to the Alliance, “it will also attempt to encourage innovation in plastic chemistry and production that can simplify or make end-of-life treatment easier or more effective.”
“The systemic transformation required to enable a plastic circular economy includes societal, infrastructure, and technology advances,” says Jim Fitterling, chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical Company in the United States and chair of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste. This strategy gives a significant opportunity to firmly place the plastic waste management ecosystem on institutional investors’ agendas in order to speed the transition to a global plastic circular economy.”