“Pact Network Connect 2025” is reported to have been the first global gathering of the two networks – both of which were created by environmental action NGO WRAP.
The three-day programme focused on addressing issues within food systems and the environmental cost of plastic pollution and waste. Representatives from the Pacts were joined by investors and other organisations to “co-design practical solutions”.
Harriet Lamb, CEO of WRAP, remarked: “The numerous Pacts are the engine rooms driving forward a new circular economy for plastics and food. They give me hope that we can correct the failures of our food and plastic systems.
“They show that ahead of securing global inter-governmental agreements at scale, companies, NGOs and governments can get behind voluntary action as an agile and effective front runner along the road to transformation.
“We’re delighted to be in Mexico, bringing together leaders from the food and plastics Pacts for the first ever joint global meeting to share solutions and accelerate change.”
Food and Plastics Pacts
The Plastics Pact is run by WRAP in conjunction with circular economy group the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and is comprised of 13 international Plastics Pacts.
Meanwhile, the Food Pact is made up of 11 individual Pacts and is spearheaded solely by WRAP.
The first Plastic Pact Network meeting was held in South Africa in 2024 and was the inspiration for this week’s combined meeting.
Representatives said that there was a sense of renewed urgency at the meeting in Mexico after the INC-5 negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty failed to yield any concrete results at the end of last year.
Marta Longhurst, pacts and field-building lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, “The Plastics Pacts have proved that such a network can deliver real impact towards eliminating plastic waste and pollution.
“Thanks to Plastics Pacts, tens of billions of problematic or unnecessary plastic items have been eliminated; design for reusability, recyclability, and composability in practice and at scale has increased by 23%; and incorporation of recycled content back into packaging has increased by 44%.
“We are pleased to see the tangible impact of the Plastics Pacts, and to see this knowledge shared and applied to other sectors to accelerate the transition to a circular economy worldwide.”
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