November 4 2025, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation released its 2030 Plastics Agenda for Business and Global Commitment 2030 which mobilizes businesses, governments, and organizations worldwide to eliminate plastic waste and pollution through individual business action and system-wide collaboration.

The 2030 Plastics Agenda for Business recognizes that systemic barriers to circularity—such as the absence of scaled reuse systems, limited and disconnected collection and recycling infrastructure, and pervasive flexible packaging—cannot be solved by individual action alone. To drive market transformation, in addition to individual action, the report also calls on collective advocacy to help shape ambitious, effective policy and collaborative business action to share risks, costs, and innovation to tackle barriers.

A key pillar of the 2030 Plastics Agenda is the Global Commitment 2030. The Global Commitment 2030 focuses on individual business action, calling on companies to set and report against time-bound targets such as reducing virgin plastic use, increasing volumes of product delivered through reuse models and increasing recycled content use and production. It represents the world’s largest voluntary collaboration to reduce plastic waste and pollution—uniting businesses representing 20% of the global plastic packaging market behind a shared vision for a circular economy.

In Canada, circular solutions for plastics are gaining ground, but scaling impact requires coordinated action across regions and value chains. The 2030 Plastics Agenda for Business and the Global Commitment enable this by shifting from prescriptive targets to practical, achievable outcomes—encouraging companies to set ambitious goals that reflect their unique product portfolios and operational realities.  It focuses on streamlining reporting, providing flexibility in how companies achieve their goals, and harmonizing with other disclosure protocols and frameworks. By addressing the barriers that have held back progress, this approach creates a pathway for meaningful action at scale.

Over the past five years, the Canada Plastics Pact has been laying the groundwork for a circular economy in Canada, building partnerships across Canada’s plastics value chain and creating the conditions for businesses and governments to collaborate, innovate, and drive systemic change. The 2030 Plastics Agenda and Global Commitment build on global insights, providing renewed clarity and momentum that will advance both Canada’s leadership and the global transition to a circular plastics system.

At a time when negotiations for a globally binding treaty remain stalled, the 2030 Plastics Agenda seizes the critical window for collective action to drive ambitious legislation and transform market environments at national and global levels. As a proud supporter of the 2030 Plastics Agenda and Global Commitment 2030, the Canada Plastics Pact is further strengthening its alignment across borders and sectors to lead this transformation in Canada.

“Businesses who act early shape the policy landscape of tomorrow and stay ahead of regulation, rather than being disrupted by it,” states the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. 

“Many business leaders ask me what comes next. My answer is simple: don’t wait. The companies that act now can help shape effective policies and make circular solutions the new normal,” said Rob Opsomer, Executive Lead for Plastics and Finance at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. “By working together, they’ll cut transition costs and build resilience in a fast-changing world. They can make what once seemed impossible not only possible but ultimately inevitable.”

As CPP continues to mobilize its Partners and stakeholders, these global priorities will guide the Pact’s evolving strategy and inform the development of a nationally coordinated approach to plastics action in Canada, ensuring collective progress toward a world where plastic never becomes waste.

To learn more visit:
Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s website.

Disclaimer: Participation in the CPP reflects a commitment to collaboration, but does not necessarily signify a Partner’s endorsement of every individual CPP action or publication.