The Global Commitment, led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the UN Environment Programme, unites over 500 organizations in a shared vision for a circular economy for plastics. Companies representing 20% of global plastic packaging have committed to ambitious 2025 targets to tackle pollution at its source. Our latest report assesses their progress.

In light of these findings, we urge businesses to accelerate action, particularly in reuse, flexible packaging, and decoupling growth from packaging use. Governments must also act immediately to advance progress and promote high ambition in upcoming negotiations for a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.

Explore the full report: https://bit.ly/3gZUrTA. Learn more about the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's work: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org.

Changing how materials are produced and used is crucial for transitioning to a circular economy. At Summit 22, Materiom’s Liz Corbin discussed their impactful work in this area. This concept, championed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, aims to eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials, and regenerate nature.

For more insights into the circular economy, subscribe to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's YouTube channel. Discover their work on their website and follow them on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Our latest #OceanStewardSpotlight featured Marilyn Hemingway and Sandra Bundy, two leaders from Stop Offshore Drilling in the Atlantic (SODA). Marilyn is CEO/President and Founder of the Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce, and Sandra is a board member of the Business Alliance for Protecting the Atlantic Coast.

Support their important work by visiting: Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce Gullah Geechee Foundation Business Alliance for Protecting the Atlantic Coast

Raghav Kalyanaraman delivered a speech at the Brower Youth Awards ceremony.

The event was held at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California, on October 18, 2022. For more details, visit: broweryouthawards.org.

Lauren Ejiaga delivered a speech at the Brower Youth Awards ceremony on October 18, 2022. The event was held at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California.

Further details about the awards are available at broweryouthawards.org.

Hamid Torabzadeh delivered a speech at the Brower Youth Awards ceremony on October 18, 2022. The event took place at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California.

For more information about the awards, visit broweryouthawards.org.

Annika Weber delivered a speech at the Brower Youth Awards ceremony.

The event was held on October 18, 2022, at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California. For more details, visit broweryouthawards.org.

Ilana Cohen delivered a speech at the Brower Youth Awards ceremony, held October 18, 2022, at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California.

For more information, visit: broweryouthawards.org.

Amara Ifeji, 20, recognized the lack of environmental opportunities in marginalized communities. In 2018, she began facilitating environmental learning for students of color. She later became a director for the Maine Environmental Changemakers Network, an intergenerational group of 400+ youth promoting a just, inclusive, and equitable environmental movement.

Amara elevates youth voices in state and federal policy. In 2021, she coordinated Maine’s first climate education summit, gathering young people’s visions. This led to her helping create and implement a bill funding over $2 million for climate education in the state. Learn more at broweryouthawards.org.

Annika Weber, 18, co-founded the Northwest School Carbon Neutrality Task Force in early 2021. Observing widespread burnout among youth activists, she sought to combine youth passion with adult experience for sustained, tangible results. The task force, including students, parents, and faculty, researched how her high school could achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

They surveyed the community, collected baseline data, and presented a report to school leadership. The school is now finalizing the adoption of these recommendations. If implemented, it would be the first 6-12 school in the U.S. to target carbon neutrality by 2030 without carbon offsets.

broweryouthawards.org

Since high school, 17-year-old Hamid Torabzadeh has volunteered with the American Red Cross, empowering youth to prevent and alleviate human suffering amidst increasing climate and public health disasters.

He leads the Los Angeles READYteens Program, educating high school students on disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. READYteens trains youth in CPR/First Aid and emergency communications, prioritizing vulnerable communities most susceptible to climate-related emergencies.

Hamid's efforts have reached over 10,000 youth volunteers nationally, trained 350 LA students, and educated 1,000+ LA households on fire and earthquake safety.

broweryouthawards.org

In 2018, Ilana Cohen co-founded the New York City chapter of Zero Hour and organized one of the nation’s first Youth Climate Marches, spurred by political inaction. As a Harvard student, she relaunched the Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard campaign, securing a historic victory when the university pledged to divest its $53 billion endowment from fossil fuels.

Cohen, 21, later co-founded Fossil Free Research, an international grassroots campaign. It unites students and experts against Big Oil’s influence on climate research, aiming to protect academic integrity and accelerate a just energy transition. The campaign has published an open letter signed by over 740 academics, staged international actions, and formed campus coalitions.

broweryouthawards.org

In 8th grade, Lauren U.C. Ejiaga's science fair project on ozone depletion and Louisiana's marsh grasses won a top prize at Broadcom MASTERS. This experience highlighted the importance of environmental awareness alongside research, inspiring her to educate peers.

Now 17, Lauren leads multiple native plant restoration projects as a cohort leader for the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. She also founded the "Conservation and Restoration Conjunction," a series of workshops promoting STEM education and coastal protection among youth. She recruits national science fair winners to speak about STEM careers.

broweryouthawards.org

High school senior Raghav Kalyanaraman has dedicated two years to restoring North Texas's Blackland Prairie Ecosystem. This vital habitat, with less than 0.001% remaining, supports over 500 native species, prevents soil erosion, and replenishes aquifers.

Leading hundreds of youth volunteers, Raghav has restored five acres at the Heard Museum. His work includes clearing invasive species, planting native flora, installing 118 waterbars to mitigate trail erosion, and constructing enclosures to aid dwindling box turtle populations. He also founded Eagles For Environment to further community involvement. Learn more at broweryouthawards.org.

Amara Ifeji delivered a speech at the Brower Youth Awards ceremony, held October 18, 2022, at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California.

For more information, visit: broweryouthawards.org

A circular economy transition relies on policy and regulation to foster innovation and change. At Summit 22, speakers explored this crucial role, its challenges, and potential for impact.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a UK charity, champions the circular economy: designing out waste and pollution, circulating products and materials, and regenerating nature. For more insights, subscribe to our [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAC2otE5_agzHZPnk3mE5w?sub_confirmation=1) and explore our work on [our website](https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org). Follow us on [Instagram](http://instagram.com/EllenMacArthurFoundation), [Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/ellenmacarthurfoundation), [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/circulareconomy), and [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ellen-macarthur-foundation/).