Big investors are calling on companies to drastically reduce the use of plastic

A coalition of investors overseeing $10 trillion in assets has called on companies like Amazon, PepsiCo and McDonald’s to slash their reliance on plastic, saying otherwise it exposes them to financial risk.

The 183-strong group has written to 30 of the world’s largest food, retail and consumer goods companies to warn that continued plastic production poses risks to public health, biodiversity, climate change and human rights.

The coalition, which includes Amundi, Legal and General Investment Management, Aviva Investors, Axa Investment Management and Rockefeller Asset Management, is the largest ever formed to lobby companies on plastics.

He urged companies, which also include Tesco, Carrefour and Danone, to phase out single-use plastics, significantly reduce material consumption and implement reuse schemes for packaging.

Angélique Laskewitz, executive director of the Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO), coordinator of the campaign, said it was worrying that most companies in the consumer and food retail sectors were only taking actions limited to mitigate the risks posed by plastic.

“Investors are now sending a clear signal to these companies that they will face ever-increasing pressure if they don’t act soon to substantially reduce their plastic footprint,” Laskewitz said.

VBDO estimates that plastic pollution costs society more than $100 billion annually. A study published in 2017 found that 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced since the industry began to expand after World War II. About four-fifths were thrown away as waste, while only 9% was recycled.

A growing cohort of institutional investors has raised concerns about plastic and the damage to the world’s oceans, especially after that of David Attenborough Blue Planet television series.

Some fund managers, including Axa IM and Lombard Odier, have launched funds to tap into the transformation needed when it comes to plastics and waste.

Investors meeting this week say companies that do not take action on plastics will be exposed “to financial risks that threaten value creation and investment returns, as the wave of action to tighten legislation around the world, the growing number of lawsuits against companies, and potential threat to brand equity.

Investors, who also want companies to phase out dangerous chemicals used in plastics, plan to set goals for each company, following letters and phone calls.

The investor coalition also calls on companies to stop lobbying against proposed policies to reduce plastic waste and pollution, including the Global treaty on plastics and the EU regulation on packaging and packaging waste, which is currently under revision.

Arthur van Mansvelt, senior engagement specialist at Achmea Investment Management, said lobbying efforts by industry associations were undermining efforts to tackle the plastics crisis.

“The Global Plastics Treaty offers a historic opportunity to address the problem at its source. We need companies that support its ambition on prevention and reuse, not lobby against it,” said van Mansvelt.

Danone, which is facing a legal action on plastic pollution, indicated its website, where it says it has committed to halve the use of virgin fossil fuel packaging by 2040.

Amazon said it was “committed to minimizing single-use plastic in our packaging around the world” and had eliminated the use of more than 1.5 million tons of packaging materials since 2015.

Carrefour, McDonald’s and Tesco did not respond to a request for comment. PepsiCo declined to comment.