Choking in plastic: how your investments can help our oceans breathe again

Plastics were not part of our society 100 years ago. Now they are pervasive throughout the environment, with barely any species and ecosystem not being impacted by plastics pollution. Plastic is throughout our oceans, in the flesh of fish, in the stomachs of seabirds, along our rivers and inside human brains. The true scale of damage to our health, environment, and wildlife is still emerging. 

11 million metric tons of plastics enter our marine environment annually, in addition to the 200 million metric tons already present in our oceans. These plastics are then ingested, entangle species, or enter through toxic chemicals in the food chain. They completely disrupt the marine ecosystem, having notably severe impacts on seabirds in particular. New Zealand is well known as the seabird capital of the world, with one third of our 80 species being endemic, so this issue is extremely relevant to our environment in Aotearoa. There was a lot of hope riding on the Global Plastics Treaty, which just wrapped up negotiations a couple weeks ago. 

There was hope that the completion of the Global Plastics Treaty at the sixth round of negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland would start to control plastics pollution. But the negotiations failed. The aim was for the treaty to set legally binding agreements for  countries to reduce plastic production and consumption, but the negotiations were overrun with petrochemical countries and fossil fuel companies arguing for a weaker treaty. Our current plastic pollution globally could triple by 2040 if we do not take action, thus this failure of negotiations is a huge loss for plastic activists. 

After the disappointing breakdown in talks, the representative from Tuvalu said that: “For our islands this means that without global cooperation and state action, millions of tonnes of plastic waste will continue to be dumped in our oceans, affecting our ecosystem, food security, livelihood and culture.” The Guardian. Without a Global Plastics Treaty, there are flow on implications for all of society. 

Plastic campaigning is focusing on the issue of ‘false solutions’ in plastic pollution which claim to solve the plastic crisis but do not in practice. These are existing solutions to plastic pollution that cause more harm than good to people and the environment. Bioplastics, plastic credits and incineration are false solutions to the plastic problem as they are solutions which do not create lasting solutions to the plastic crisis and cause more environmental harm in the process. Also, some argue that recycling should be the solution rather than reducing plastic production altogether, however current global recycling rates are at 10% and there is evidence it is difficult to raise rates further BBC. Thus, we need lasting solutions to the plastic crisis that include stopping plastic production at its core, which is where investment comes in.

The Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance (APPA) is one of the key networks pushing for a comprehensive treaty and action in New Zealand. They work to reduce plastic pollution in Aotearoa and abroad through advocacy, education and research. Their recent education about ‘false solutions’ to plastic pollution also highlights the ‘real solutions’ such as redesigning our systems away from plastics, reducing, reusing and empowering communities. APPA works with both the Scientists Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty and the Tāngata Whenua Coalition to help represent important voices in the plastics space at the global level.

APPA and Mindful Money joined forces to undertake a webinar recently which was able to highlight the real solutions moving forward to solve plastic pollution. Mindful Money is undertaking research that links investment with the harm we see in our oceans, with plastics being one of the key categories.  Our upcoming report: “Let our Oceans Breathe: how investors can support ocean health” profiles a handful of the largest plastic packagers - Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestle, Unilever, Danone and Mondelez International. Their products are the largest sources of plastic waste in our oceans. 

These companies have retreated from their plastics targets, greenwashed their environmental impact by marketing their plastic products as eco-friendly,  and lobbied for a weaker Global Plastics Treaty. The evidence demonstrates that these corporate practices are causing significant ocean degradation, while company efforts to address their environmental impact remain insufficient.

Mindful Money’s report reveals how KiwiSaver and Managed Funds in New Zealand are directly invested in these plastic companies and hundreds of other plastic producers and packagers. Individual investors have the power to drive meaningful change. Your money has power as an investor through your KiwiSaver account. There is $570 million in KiwiSaver money invested in the six largest plastic polluters. 

You can find out whether your fund invests in plastics polluters by going to the Mindful Money Fund Checker. If it is, you can tell your fund manager that you don’t want your money invested in making our plastics problem worse. If you don’t get a satisfactory answer, you can use the Mindful Money website to find a fund that avoids your savings going into plastic investments. You can also check out the Mindful Money website for more information about why your money matters and what you can do about it. We hope the findings are a start towards promoting better investment practice, through fund managers pressuring the major companies to reduce plastics packaging. If sufficient progress is not made, investors can consider switching their fund away from those with companies causing severe environmental damage and towards funds that seek to invest in companies that are protecting and regenerating our oceans. 

Mindful Money’s upcoming report on the role of investment in ocean health also identifies the most harmful fishing, deep sea mining, fossil fuel and waste dumping/pollution companies impacting our oceans. This report is the first in a nature series where Mindful Money explores the direct impact that investment has on companies causing harm to nature, and the actions that can be taken to make our money a force for good.

Ready to align your investments with your ocean values? Mindful Money's Fund Finder makes it simple and free to discover funds that match your principles. Most providers don't charge switching fees, and research consistently shows ethical funds deliver returns that match or exceed traditional options. Your money can protect our oceans while protecting your financial future.