RM445m ocean fund launched to address Asia’s plastic crisis

This picture taken on July 21, 2019 shows commuters exchanging plastic bottles for Suroboyo bus tickets at a terminal in the Indonesian city of Surabaya. - Indonesia is the world's second-biggest marine polluter behind China and has pledged to reduce plastic waste in its waters some 70 percent by 2025 by boosting recycling, raising public awareness, and curbing usage. (Photo by Juni Kriswanto / AFP) / TO GO WITH Indonesia-environment-plastic,FEATURE by Harry PEARL

by BERNAMA/ pic by AFP

SINGAPORE • Singapore-based Circulate Capital yesterday launched a US$106 million (RM445.2 million) fund dedicated to preventing plastic from entering the Asian oceans.

Known as Circulate Capital Ocean Fund (CCOF), it is the world’s first investment fund dedicated to address Asia’s plastic crisis.

Circulate Capital is Monetary Authority of Singapore-licensed venture capital fund management company with founding investors and partners among the world’s leading companies namely PepsiCo Inc (the first investor), Procter & Gamble Co, the Dow, Danone SA, Unilever plc, The Coca-Cola Co and Chevron Phillips Chemical Co LLC.

The Singapore-based fund is also one of the 10 largest Asean-based venture capital funds in the market.

“The good news is that we are able to reduce nearly 50% of the world’s plastic leakage by investing in the waste and recycling sector in Asia, and even more if we invest in innovative materials and technologies,” said Circulate Capital CEO Rob Kaplan, in a statement.

“This is why we are here, in Singapore — a strategic hub of South-East Asia — to prove that investing in this sector is scalable for the region and can generate competitive returns, while moving closer to solving the ocean plastic crisis,” he said.

According to the statement, with 60% of ocean plastic originating from the region, Asia is the biggest source of plastic leakage into global oceans.

It cited the recent Ocean Conservancy Report, which identified a net financing gap of between US$28 and US$40 per tonne for plastic waste collection in the top five ocean polluting countries in the world — China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

To address the financing gap between available private capital and resources needed by Asia’s waste sector, CCOF will provide both debt and equity financing to waste management, recycling and circular economy start-ups, as well as small and medium enterprises in South-East Asia, focusing on preventing plastic pollution.

Circulate Capital has identified more than 200 potential investment opportunities across a range of industries in the region, with the first investments targeted in the coming weeks.

“For the beverage sector, the more recycled content used in any type of packaging, such as 100% recyclable plastics, the lower the carbon footprint,” said Coca-Cola Asia-Pacific VP for communications, public affairs and sustainability Matt Echols.

“That’s why at Coca-Cola, we have invested in Circulate Capital and have committed to collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle or can we produce by 2030.

“Beverage packaging does not need to become waste. By investing in the waste collection and recycling sector in this critical region, it can become a valuable material used again and again — a step closer towards a circular economy,” said Echols.