Plastic waste leaking into the environment, especially the ocean, has emerged as a critical, global environmental challenge. In 2018, an early coalition of companies across the plastics, consumer goods and waste management chain turned to Powell Tate to focus global conservations on long-term solutions.

The challenge was to change the conversation from short-term, simplistic “solutions,” such as bans, to deeper discussions of long-term improvements, such as critically-needed waste management infrastructure. Our solution was to do more than just make ads. We recommended action to solve the plastic waste problem head-on.

We launched the Alliance as an organization of more than 30 global companies committing to help eliminate plastic waste in the environment, especially in the ocean. To advance scalable and sustainable change, the Alliance is working on the ground with numerous nonprofits to develop and implement real solutions, focusing on the 10 rivers in Asia and Africa that carry 80 percent of all plastic waste into the ocean.