A growing protective packaging materials and systems company is joining a growing industry movement to combat plastic waste.
Pregis LLC, based in Deerfield, Ill., is the latest company to join the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, a $1.5 billion program funded by companies to help tackle the issue of plastic pollution and waste.
Companies join the alliance while pledging financial support for projects to combat the problem.
"Joining the Alliance to End Plastic Waste provides us with a unique opportunity to collaborate with passionate, like-minded thought leaders eager to create positive change for the planet. This platform will allow us to be an integral part of solving a complex challenge," Pregis CEO Kevin Baudhuin said in a news release.
Pregis makes a variety of both plastic- and paper-based protective packaging as well as automated systems to use those materials.
The alliance formed in January 2019 with 27 companies and a pledge to spend $1.5 billion over five years to find solutions to plastic pollution leaking into the environment.
The alliance has grown to more than 40 members, now including Pregis, during the past 10 months.
The non-profit group, funded by member companies, recently unveiled a new effort in Jembrana, Bali, Indonesia, to improve waste management systems.
Partnering with Project STOP, the alliance will study the problem, supply equipment for waste collection and sorting and clean beaches and rivers. The program will hire workers at living wages and provide responsible working conditions.
The effort also will seek behavioral change among residents to encourage proper waste management and recycling.
Project STOP was co-founded in 2017 by plastics and chemical company Borealis AG and Systemiq Ltd. to combat plastic pollution in Southeast Asia. Systemiq works toward achieving United Nations' global goals by working with coalitions, including members of business, finance, government, society and academia, to facilitate and create change.
"Our vision at Pregis not only underscores a commitment to protective packaging, but also to a higher purpose which is rooted in sustainability and supporting communities across the globe," Baudhuin said in announcing the move by Pregis to join the alliance.
Pregis has grown during the past five years through a series of acquisitions under the former ownership of Olympus Partners, a private equity firm. Pregis, itself, was sold by Olympus to Warburg Pincus LLC, another private equity firm, in the summer of 2019.