https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-16/morgan-stanley-seeks-to-finance-global-cleanup-of-plastic-trash
[Somehow, this seems extraordinarily out of character for a major U.S.
investment bank. What am I missing?
"The bank set a goal of removing 50 million metric tons of plastic waste
from the environment by 2030."]
climate changed
Morgan Stanley Seeks to Finance Global Cleanup of Plastic Trash
By Emily Chasan
April 16, 2019, 1:30 PM EDT
Morgan Stanley wants to help cut waste globally and has one word for its
focus: plastics.
The New York-based bank unveiled a plan Tuesday to address the global
plastics problem, from financing waste-management companies and selling
ocean-conservation investment strategies to telling its analysts to
start considering such refuse a material corporate issue. The firm is
also removing all single-use plastic, such as forks and cups, from its
own offices.
“There’s a large opportunity to make better use of these resources,”
said Audrey Choi, Morgan Stanley’s chief marketing and sustainability
officer. “About $80 billion to $120 billion of value in plastic
packaging doesn’t get reused and, as an investor, that’s a sub-optimal
use of capital.”
The firm isn’t sure how big the market for plastic-waste banking will
grow, but sees the issue as ripe for innovation. Morgan Stanley said
that its capital-markets division will focus on underwriting bonds aimed
at reducing plastic waste, and building a market for “blue bonds” that
support marine environments and sustainable fishing economies in
developing countries. The company’s wealth-management unit will focus on
making waste-reduction products available to more investors.
Morgan Stanley also sees opportunities to finance consumer-product
companies that are trying to use less packaging, as well as
municipalities or universities working to improve their recycling
infrastructure and technology. Alternatives such as bioplastics are also
compelling, the bank said. The bank set a goal of removing 50 million
metric tons of plastic waste from the environment by 2030.
“This is going to need to be a very significant investment area going
forward,” Choi said. “Plastic is an incredibly important part of the
economy today, so we have to think about how it is being redesigned,
reused, collected, recycled and ultimately disposed of across the entire
value chain.”
--
Darryl McMahon
Freelance Project Manager (sustainable systems)
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