Unlocking the Plastics Circular Economy: Case Studies on Investment

While both the private and public sectors are mobilizing to address the plastic waste challenge, there is an urgent need to accelerate the pace of investment. Investment focus likewise concentrates on financing the downstream activities in plastic waste management and recycling.

In collaboration with Global Plastic Action Partnership (World Economic Forum), The Circulate Initiative published a set of case studies that demonstrates how private capital from a variety of sources can unlock opportunities across the value chain of plastic material flow and the critical role policy needs to play to stimulate investor interest. The selected case studies include mature examples, venture-backed early-stage innovations, and high-potential analogous examples.

Key takeaways from this report include:

• Governments at all levels play a key role in catalyzing investment in plastics circularity.
• With new policies and regulations on the horizon, brands and strategic investors in the plastics value chain play an important role in boosting demand and supporting a more circular economy for plastics – as demonstrated most clearly to date within the PET recycling supply chain.
• Impact-focused, strategic, and concessionary capital sources – together with pioneering companies and governments – have driven early-stage investment in downstream and upstream solutions.
• Governments also play a central role in the development of domestic capital markets through green bond issuances and loans. The development of circular economy solutions can be fast-tracked by linking to impacts on climate and oceans, as well as lessons learned in analogous sectors.