Andrew Forrest’s war on plastics

Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation has identified 20 companies it says are responsible for half the world’s single-use plastic.

Andrew Forrest. Picture: Marie Nirme

Iron ore billionaire Andrew Forrest has declared war on some of the world’s biggest companies, banks and investment funds, accusing them of bankrolling and producing the bulk of the world’s single-use plastics.

New research released on Tuesday by Dr Forrest’s philanthropic arm, Minderoo Foundation, identified 20 companies it said were the source of half the world’s single-use plastic. Oil and gas giant ExxonMobil, US chemical company Dow and Chinese state-owned oil major Sinopec were the three most prolific.

Production of single-use plastics from fuel was contributing to climate change, while the plastics themselves were increasingly ending up in the world’s oceans.

The slump in the price of oil over the past year has also made single-use plastics cheaper.

“The plastification of our oceans and warming of our planet are amongst the greatest threats humanity and nature have ever confronted,” Dr Forrest said. “Global efforts will not be enough to reverse this crisis unless government, business and financial leaders act in our children’s and grandchildren’s interests.”

He urged banking and investment giants financing those producers to shift capital from firms that make polymers – the “building block of plastics” – to those using recycled plastic feedstock.