Unilever launched the CIRCLE Alliance, a public-private partnership backed by $21 million to combat plastic waste and promote packaging circularity by supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs in the global south.
- CIRCLE Alliance is a collaboration between Unilever, USAID, and EY launched in June with $21 million in funding
- The initiative focuses on reducing plastic use, improving waste management, and fostering circular economies with emphasis on empowering women in the informal waste sector
- Initial deployment targets India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines with plans for further expansion
- Unilever has achieved 18% reduction in virgin plastic use since 2019 and increased recycled plastic to 22% of its global portfolio
- The program provides grant funding and business support to scale SMEs and entrepreneurs offering packaging circularity and reuse-refill solutions
In a step towards global sustainability, Unilever unveiled a public-private partnership to tackle plastic waste and promote packaging circularity on a global scale. This initiative, known as the CIRCLE Alliance, represents a collaboration between Unilever, USAID, and EY, all committed to driving transformative change in the plastics value chain.
Launched in June this year, the CIRCLE Alliance is backed by a $21 million fund dedicated to empowering small businesses and entrepreneurs who are spearheading innovative solutions in the fight against plastic pollution. With a sharp focus on reducing plastic use, improving waste management, and fostering circular economies, the alliance is particularly committed to uplifting women working in the informal waste sector across the global south.
Rebecca Marmot, Unilever's Chief Sustainability Officer, expressed her optimism about the initiative, highlighting CIRCLE's collaborative model of enterprise acceleration. “CIRCLE’s collaborative model of enterprise acceleration – delivered through a mix of grant funding and bespoke business support – will help scale both new and existing solutions for packaging circularity, whether that’s driving collection and recycling or reuse–refill models,” Marmot said. “Crucially, it will support many small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs that offer impactful, market-based solutions but are currently too small to work at the scale we need.”
The alliance’s initial focus will be on countries like India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, with plans to expand further by attracting additional partners and investments. The CIRCLE Alliance builds on the success of the TRANSFORM enterprise accelerator, another initiative that Unilever led in partnership with the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and EY.
Unilever's commitment to the CIRCLE Alliance is part of its broader sustainability goals, including a financial contribution from its Climate & Nature Fund. This fund is part of a larger €1 billion investment planned by 2030 to drive systemic change and deliver business benefits.
In addition to CIRCLE, Unilever is also investing in Circulate Capital’s Ocean Fund, which focuses on improving infrastructure and increasing investments in regions severely affected by ocean plastic pollution, particularly in South and Southeast Asia, as well as Latin America.
As a testament to its efforts, Unilever has already achieved an 18% reduction in virgin plastic use compared to its 2019 baseline and has increased the use of recycled plastic to 22% across its global portfolio.
