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

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.