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WHEREAS:  The ocean plastics crisis continues unabated, fatally impacting more than 800 marine species, and causing up to $2.5 trillion in damage annually to marine ecosystems. Toxins adhere to plastics consumed by marine species, which potentially transfer to human diets. There could be more plastic than fish by weight in oceans by 2050.

Recently, Pew Charitable Trusts released a groundbreaking study, Breaking the Plastic Wave, which concluded that if all current industry and government commitments were met, ocean plastic deposition would be reduced by only 7%.  Without immediate and sustained new commitments throughout the plastics value chain, annual flow of plastic into oceans could nearly triple by 2040. 

The report finds that improved recycling will be insufficient to stem the plastic tide, and must be coupled with upstream activities like reduction in demand, materials redesign, and substitution. “Brand owners, fast-moving consumer goods companies and retailers should lead the transition by committing to reduce at least one-third of plastic demand through elimination, reuse, and new delivery models,” the report states, adding that reducing plastic production is the most attractive solution from environmental, economic, and social perspectives. 

Amazon does not disclose how much plastic packaging it uses but is believed to be one of the largest corporate users of flexible plastic packaging, which cannot be recycled. A recent report estimated that Amazon generated 465 million pounds of plastic packaging waste last year and that up to 22 million pounds of its plastic packaging waste entered the world’s marine ecosystems. Flexible packaging represents 59% of all plastic production but an outsized 80% of plastic leaking into oceans. Amazon has no goal to make all of its packaging recyclable.

Unilever has taken the most significant corporate action to date, agreeing to cut plastic packaging use by 100,000 tons by 2025. PepsiCo has committed to substitute recycled content for 35% of virgin plastic in its beverage division. Amazon lags in its commitments, as it has no goal to make overall cuts in plastic packaging.

Reducing plastic packaging and making all packaging recyclable are necessary steps to combat the plastic pollution crisis. The company is long overdue on taking action.  

BE IT RESOLVED:  Shareholders request that the board of directors issue a report by December 2021 on plastic packaging, estimating the amount of plastics released to the environment due to plastic packaging attributable to all Amazon operations, and beginning with the manufacture of the plastic source materials, through disposal or recycling, and describing any company strategies or goals to reduce the use of plastic packaging to reduce these impacts.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT:  Proponents note that the report should be prepared at reasonable cost, omitting confidential information, and include an assessment of the reputational, financial, and operational risks associated with continuing to use substantial amounts of plastic packaging and unrecyclable packaging while plastic pollution grows unabated. In the board’s discretion, the report could also evaluate opportunities for dramatically reducing the amount of plastics used in packaging through redesign or substitution.

Resolution Details

Company: Mondelez

Lead Filers:
As You Sow

Year: 2021

Filing Date: 
November 2020

Initiative(s): Consumer Packaging

Status: Resolution Withdrawn, Agreement Reached

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