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Plastic Partnerships: How Corporations Are Hedging Against the UN Global Plastics Treaty

Rob Ralston & Jack Taggart

Global Environmental Politics2025https://doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00772article
ABDC B
Weight
0.62

Abstract

The global plastic crisis has intensified over the past decade, pressuring corporations to address their environmental impact. In response to a UN resolution to negotiate a treaty to end plastic pollution, corporate actors have reoriented their sustainability strategies. This forum article examines how companies across the petrochemical–plastics industry have adopted a “hedging strategy” to undermine stricter regulations, promoting industry-led multistakeholder partnerships (“plastic partnerships”) aimed at minimizing disruptions to their business practices. This strategy seeks to hedge against transformative change by offering limited political and material concessions that co-opt circular economy rhetoric. We assess the effectiveness of these strategies in the context of protracted UN negotiations and the influence of transnational corporations in shaping emerging forms of global plastic governance.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00772

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@article{rob2025,
  title        = {{Plastic Partnerships: How Corporations Are Hedging Against the UN Global Plastics Treaty}},
  author       = {Rob Ralston & Jack Taggart},
  journal      = {Global Environmental Politics},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00772},
}

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Plastic Partnerships: How Corporations Are Hedging Against the UN Global Plastics Treaty

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Evidence weight

0.62

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.64 × 0.4 = 0.26
M · momentum0.90 × 0.15 = 0.14
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.