HP and Ikea have joined the consortium of NextWave Plastics’ worldwide businesses to develop first global network of ocean-bound plastics supply chains.
Image: HP and Ikea have joined NextWave’s consortium to develop first global network of ocean-bound plastics supply chains. Photo: courtesy of Dustan Woodhouse / Unsplash.
The addition of HP and Ikea brings the total number of companies to 10 in the NextWave consortium, which is supporting the restriction of plastic entry into the ocean.
The consortium will work to enhance the use of ocean-bound plastics by developing the first global network of ocean-bound plastics supply chains.
HP chief supply chain officer Stuart Pann said: “While HP has already demonstrated our commitment to sustainable impact by eliminating ocean-bound plastics and reusing them in our products, we firmly believe in the power of collaboration.”
HP and its partners have developed a fully functioning ocean-bound plastics supply chain through collecting bottles in Haiti, after joining the First Mile Coalition in September 2016.
HP noted that it has sourced 250 tons of ocean-bound plastics in Haiti, which helped to create over 600 income opportunities for adults in the country.
In June 2018, Ikea has announced its updated sustainability strategy, including the removal of single-use plastic products across its stores by 2020 and designing all Ikea products with new circular principles by 2030, as well as use of renewable and recycled materials.
Inter Ikea Group sustainability manager Lena Pripp-Kovac said: “Together with other NextWave companies we will be developing a global network of ocean-bound plastics supply chains, learning from each other’s efforts and working together to ensure maximum business, community and environmental benefit.”
The formal joining of HP and Ikea will take place in the presence of founding members Bureo, Dell Technologies, Herman Miller, Humanscale and Interface at the fifth annual Our Ocean Conference, which will be held between 29 and 30 October in Bali of Indonesia.
In 2017, NextWave Plastics was launched by Dell Technologies and Lonely Whale, as part of a United Nations commitment.
Since the launch, NextWave member firms have been developing their product use cases to show the viability of integrating ocean-bound plastics found in areas such as Indonesia, Chile, Philippines, Cameroon and Denmark, into their supply chains.