Missing the Mark: Corporate False Solutions to the Plastic Crisis
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Break Free From Plastic?
Why does the report focus on these seven companies?
Why was it necessary to track the companies’ projects on plastic pollution?\Isn’t it a good thing that companies are trying to solve plastic pollution?
What is a false solution?
Why do you count recycling as a false solution?
Did you find all of the projects from these companies or are there others?
How did you ensure that the projects and the companies ranked fairly?
Why is reuse the only type of project you classify as a real solution?
Why have you ranked the companies and why is there no top performer?
Can I see the raw data on the company projects?
What is Break Free From Plastic?
The #breakfreefromplastic movement is a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. Since its launch in 2016, more than 11,000 organizations and individual supporters from across the world have joined the movement to demand massive reductions in single-use plastics and to push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. BFFP member organizations and individuals share the common values of environmental protection and social justice, and work together through a holistic approach in order to bring about systemic change under the #breakfreefromplastic core pillars. This means tackling plastic pollution across the whole plastics value chain - from extraction to disposal – focusing on prevention rather than cure and providing effective solutions.
Why does the report focus on these seven companies?
We focused on the seven companies who were found to be in the top 10 ‘global plastic polluters’ from the 2020 Break Free From Plastic Brand Audit. The Brand Audit is an annual project of the Break Free From Plastic movement in which thousands of volunteers collect plastic waste from their communities in various environments around the world. Brand audits are our way of gathering evidence to hold corporations accountable for plastic that is not manageable or that may be recyclable but is ending up where it shouldn’t. Through a combination of civic action and citizen science, we recorded data to find out which corporations are polluting our communities with single-use plastic.
The top ten plastic polluters from the 2020 edition of the Brand Audit were:
- The Coca-Cola Company (13,834 pieces of plastic waste in 51 countries)
- PepsiCo. (5,155 pieces of plastic waste in 43 countries)
- Nestlé (8,633 pieces of plastic waste in 37 countries)
- Unilever (5,558 pieces of plastic waste in 37 countries)
- Mondelez International (1,171 pieces of plastic waste in 34 countries)
- Mars, Incorporated (678 pieces of plastic waste in 32 countries)
- Procter & Gamble (3,535 pieces of plastic waste in 29 countries)
- Philip Morris International (2,593 pieces of plastic waste in 28 countries)
- Colgate-Palmolive (5,991 pieces of plastic waste in 24 countries)
- Perfetti Van Melle (465 pieces of plastic waste in 24 countries)
We chose to focus on the top seven companies for Missing the Mark as they have been the top seven for two years running and are all very active in plastic pollution solution projects. The eighth top polluter is a tobacco company and is less active in trying to solve plastic pollution.
Why was it necessary to track the companies’ projects on plastic pollution?
Companies regularly issue press releases to the media about the launch of new plastic pollution projects, or new materials they are trialling to reduce plastic. Often these projects are never heard of again in the media, and there is little information to be found on company web pages or sustainability reports. If companies were transparent and collated information on what they are doing to tackle plastic pollution in one easy to find location, this project would not have been necessary. It’s important to look behind the positive press releases and flagship projects to understand whether a project will address the real cause of the plastic crisis, and what the companies are doing as a whole. Only by looking at the projects all together can we understand how companies are trying to reduce their plastic pollution, and look for concerning trends.
Isn’t it a good thing that companies are trying to solve plastic pollution?
Companies are responsible for solving the plastic pollution that is caused by their products and packaging. Corporate decisions about how their business operates and how they deliver products to customers make a big difference. However, they need to be doing the right thing to solve the problem otherwise it could be made worse, creating other environmental problems or harming communities. Corporate actions to solve plastic pollution need to focus on the source, or be ‘upstream’. This means that plastic use must be reduced as far as possible, by eliminating plastic entirely or finding new methods for delivering products that don’t rely on single use plastic. Missing the Mark has found that the seven top polluting companies are mainly focused on ‘downstream’ solutions that do nothing to reduce plastic production, and instead focus on cleaning up, or disposing of it, often in ways that are environmentally damaging such as burning.
What is a false solution?
A false solution is anything that is claimed to be part of the solution that does not tackle the root cause of the issue. In the case of plastic pollution, that would be anything that does not result in a reduction in the number of plastic items being produced. That is because plastic creates severe issues for the environment, communities, and human health at all stages of its life cycle, beginning with the extraction of fossil fuels, the raw material for producing plastic. Any solution that only addresses plastic at the end of its life when it is polluting the environment or needs to be disposed of will not do anything to address the harm of plastic production - a growing contributor to climate change. Solutions to the plastic pollution crisis need to be equitable, affordable and avoid unintended consequences for any community or the environment.
Why do you count recycling as a false solution?
Our recycling system is deeply flawed, and only a few types of plastic products can be effectively and economically recycled. In most global north countries, plastic for recycling is shipped to lower income countries where it is sometimes dumped, burned, or recycled in poor conditions for the workers. A Greenpeace report Throwing away the future: how companies still have it wrong on plastic pollution “solutions” notes that “Recycling systems cannot keep up with the huge volume of plastic waste generated. Even in Germany, which has one of the highest recycling rates in the world based on collection, more than 60% of all plastic waste is burned, and only 38% recycled.”
Did you find all of the projects from these companies or are there others?
As noted in the report and above, companies do not have lists of all their plastic pollution projects publicly available. We spent six weeks researching through company websites and reports, news reports, alliance publications and surveying the Break Free From Plastic movement members. However, there is no guarantee that we were able to find all the projects that are backed by the companies. We also only included projects from January 2018 to April 2021 so projects starting outside of those dates do not feature in our analysis. We based our assessment of each project on publicly available information which may also be incomplete.
How did you ensure that the projects and the companies ranked fairly?
We worked with a group of experts from Break Free From Plastic movement member organisations to assist us in setting the criteria for judging the company solutions projects, and to advise on classifying the projects and ranking the companies. Five experts were chosen from five different regions and with knowledge in diverse plastic pollution topics for the ‘criteria team’. This group set the criteria for judging projects as false or real solutions and informed the categories the projects were split into. A separate group of three experts from different regions and specialties worked together to inform the ranking methodology of the companies. We also invited different experts to review the finished report.
Why is reuse the only type of project you classify as a real solution?
There are other solutions to the plastic pollution crisis other than reuse and alternative delivery systems, but this is the main solution relevant to fast moving consumer goods companies. It is imperative that FMCG companies end their reliance on single-use plastic, and switching to reusable packaging is the best way to do it. Other solutions that are relevant to these companies include eliminating packaging entirely.
Why have you ranked the companies and why is there no top performer?
We have ranked the companies to enable us to assess their performance and track any changes over time. We will replicate this study at regular intervals to hold companies accountable for their plastic pollution solution projects. There is no top performer, only a ‘least worst’ because even the best company out of this selection demonstrates very low ambition for real solutions.
Can I see the raw data on the company projects?
The raw data set of all projects included in the report is available on request.