NextWave Plastics announces two new member companies - HP Inc. and IKEA - are joining its consortium of worldwide businesses committed to scaling the use of ocean-bound plastics by developing the first global network of ocean-bound plastics supply chains. The addition of HP and IKEA marks 10 companies collaborating to "turn off the tap" of plastic entering the ocean.
HP and IKEA bring considerable leadership to addressing ocean-bound plastics that will contribute to all NextWave companies pushing the boundaries of what they know to be possible.
Since announcing in September 2016 that it would join the First Mile Coalition to clean up plastic waste and create economic opportunity for the people of Haiti, HP and its partners have successfully built a fully functioning ocean-bound plastics supply chain using bottles collected in Haiti. Today, the company announces it has sourced 250 tonnes of ocean-bound plastics from Haiti - more than 550,000 pounds - and created more than 600 income opportunities for adults in the country. That's more than 12 million plastic bottles that have not entered the Caribbean Sea and instead are being upcycled into Original HP ink cartridges.
By opening a new market opportunity, generating a steady revenue stream and partnering to improve conditions for the workers, HP is helping to create sustainable jobs and bring opportunity and dignity to the collector community.
In June 2018, IKEA announced its updated sustainability strategy, with new commitments to become people and planet positive by 2030. Commitments included removing single-use plastic products across its stores by 2020 and designing all IKEA products with new circular principles by 2030, with the goal to only use renewable and recycled materials.
Both HP and IKEA recognize the importance of joining forces with other like-minded entities to not only scale their own ocean-bound plastics supply chain efforts, but to also extend across industries to make it commercially viable for all so maximum impact can be realized.
HP and IKEA will join founding members Bureo, Dell Technologies, Herman Miller, Humanscale and Interface at the fifth annual Our Ocean Conference, taking place Oct. 29-30 in Bali, Indonesia, where their engagement will be formally announced. Hosted by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, Our Ocean is focused on generating commitments and taking actions to maintain the sustainability of our oceans. NextWave member companies will share their current impact and their joint commitment to scale their impact and address the marine litter crisis at a global scale.
In 2017, as part of a United Nations commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 14, Dell Technologies and Lonely Whale launched NextWave Plastics. The goal was to build on Dell's ocean-bound plastic program launched in 2016 and bring together a cross-industry consortium of companies to work together in a collaborative, open-sourced and transparent fashion to create the first global network of ocean-bound plastics supply chains and scale the use of ocean-bound plastics.
Since its launch, NextWave member companies including Bureo, Dell Technologies, General Motors, Herman Miller, Humanscale, Interface and Trek Bicycle, have each been developing their product use cases to demonstrate the viability of integrating ocean-bound plastics found in areas such as Indonesia, Chile, Philippines, Cameroon and Denmark, into their supply chains. The addition of new member companies supports greater demand for these plastics and strengthens supply chain stability.
NextWave has been noted as a 2018 Fast Company World Changing Idea and was recognized on October 20, 2018, as the winner of the P4G 2018 Circular Economy Award sponsored by the Danish Government for its commitment to the significant reduction of ocean-bound plastics. NextWave's collaboration across and within industries, and their partnership with governments and NGOs, is a key feature of this recognition.
NextWave member companies are currently sourcing verified ocean-bound plastics from Cameroon, Chile, Denmark, Haiti, Indonesia and the Philippines. They are committed to expanding supply chain efforts in those countries and adding new sources of supply from a minimum of three additional countries including India, Taiwan, Thailand by the year 2025. Through these efforts, NextWave companies will also expand the types of material sourced and will work closely with other supply chain development initiatives to create scale within priority communities.
NextWave Member companies are committed to having maximum impact today and currently are on track, in alignment with UN SDG 14.1, to have diverted a minimum of 25,000 tonnes of plastics, the equivalent to 1.2 billion single-use plastic water bottles, from entering the ocean by the end of the year 2025. There is currently more than 86 million tonnes of plastic in our ocean. And each year, up to 12 million tonnes of new plastic will enter the ocean. Given this crisis, NextWave Members are continually looking for ways to have more impact.
For more information on NextWave, click here. You can also connect with NextWave on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
