Steps Taken Against Plastic Pollution During the “Plastic in the Time of COVID-19” Webinar

The Business Plastic Initiative (IPG) continues to guide companies in the fight against plastic pollution. The initiative organized a webinar for the companies to discuss plastic commitment agenda in COVID-19 outbreak days. As part of the webinar, Mahmut Osmanbaşoğlu, UNDP Turkey’s Chemicals and Waste Cluster Lead, gave a presentation named “The effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on plastic pollution”. In addition to the presentation, the Business Plastic Initiative gave information about possible actions of commitment.

“Outbreak measures should be designed in a way that they do not weaken our objectives in tackling plastic pollution in the long-run.”

The webinar, which took place on On April 20 was organized in collaboration with the UNDP, founder of IPG’s solution partner “Business for Goals Platform”. It evaluated the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak in tackling plastic pollution. Furthermore, the initiative’s roadmap was discussed with the participating companies. During the webinar, it was also highlighted that experiences made during periods of crisis can reinforce the steps towards protecting the environment.

About Business Plastic Initiative:

The Business Plastic Initiative was founded in collaboration with Global Compact Turkey, Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD), and the Business Council for Sustainable Development Turkey (BCSD Turkey). It aims to encourage concrete actions of the private sector tackling the plastic problem and to bring together existing actions under the SDGs. Additionally, it seeks to increase awareness and collaboration, as well as to provide advocacy and support communication. The initiative was launched on the 20^th of November 2019 with 26 participating companies that declared to make a commitment against plastic pollution by 2021. Within four months, the number of companies that signed the pledge reached 45. The Business for Goals Platform has provided technical supports to the activities of the Business Plastic Initiative as a solution partner.

Find more information on Business For Goals Platform here: https://www.business4goals.org/