The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW; www.endplasticwaste.org) has announced that Jacob Duer will serve as its first president and CEO, with effect from 1 October. Duer joins the AEPW from the United Nations, where he was previously director of the chemicals and health section of the UN Environment Programme.

Duer’s role will include advancing the AEPW’s mission to develop and implement solutions to reduce plastics waste. The Alliance has around 40 members currently – see Plasteurope.com of 24.07.2019 – and these are global companies in the petrochemical, plastics, consumer goods and packaging sectors. The AEPW’s chairman is Procter & Gamble CEO David Taylor, with LyondellBasell CEO Bob Patel the vice chairman.

The alliance is committed to spending USD 1.5 bn (EUR 1.35 bn) over the next five years in projects to “reduce and eliminate plastic waste in the environment, especially in the ocean.” In a rough estimation, member companies’ after-tax earnings generated in 2018 total around EUR 135 bn, so AEPW commitments sum up to around 1% of members’ total earnings. Across five years, this is then about 0.2% per year.

In July, the AEPW held its first “International Forum” in Tokyo / Japan, which had about 500 participants and focused on sharing best practices for raising awareness and advancing solutions. Virginie Helias, P&G’s chief sustainability officer, was the keynote speaker, and the event also included a panel discussion.