A group of 70 institutional investors, including several pension funds such as the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF), Batirente, Strathclyde Pension Fund, VBV Vorsorgekasse, and Dutch schemes PMT, PME and Stichting Pensioenfonds voor Huisartsen, are calling on companies to tackle plastic pollution and fossil fuel dependence.
The group, which also includes Legal & General Investment Management, Pictet Group, Nordea Asset Management, Achmea Investment Management, Robeco, MN, Abrdn, Rockefeller Asset Management, Rathbones Group, and Storebrand Asset Management, has signed a statement issued by financial think tank Planet Tracker.
“Petrochemical companies are the source of the raw materials plastics are made of. They take the fossil fuel feedstocks and turn them into the polymers which are then melted, extruded and formed into the plastics other corporations use,” said Planet Tracker’s head of engagement, Nicole Kozlowski.
“Petrochemical companies are firmly embedded in the plastics value chain and therefore in the plastic pollution crisis,” Kozlowski added.
The urgency of the issue is underscored by some alarming predictions made by the group. Plastic production is predicted to triple by 2060, and lifecycle emissions expected to double, accounting for 4.5% of global emissions. Additionally, plastic polymers contain toxic chemicals, resulting in health impacts such as diabetes, obesity, fertility issues, and cancers.
Institutional support
The initiative comes at a time when investors have recognised the risks posed by the plastics economy, while determined to ensure alignment of business practices with global sustainability goals such as the Paris Climate Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
The collective statement urges investors and their representatives with exposure to the plastics value chain to request petrochemical companies producing plastic polymers to disclose and define strategies, address toxic polymers and chemicals by committing to eliminating hazardous chemicals in their products and publicly report progress, as well as develop sustainable infrastructure and establish governance and accountability for sustainability commitments at board level, linking management compensation to circularity goals.
Alex Burr, senior ESG policy and nature lead at Legal & General Investment Management, said: “Petrochemicals are at the very source of plastic pollution, degrading our natural world and posing significant financial risks. Petrochemical companies should not be exempt from these policies and must understand business as usual is not an option”.
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