The current life cycle for plastics is far from circular, with only 33 million tons (Mt), or 9% of plastic waste created, going through recycling. A shocking 22 Mt of plastics leaked into the environment in 2019, 6.1 Mt of which reached rivers, lakes and the ocean.

In 2022, WBCSD published Enabling Corporate Plastics Disclosure: opening the debate for the adoption of universal metrics to review the plastic-related metrics companies were using to measure and report progress against plastic pollution and open the debate on the harmonization of plastic-related metrics for disclosure purposes.

This second paper clarifies the metrics that companies should use for plastic pollution accounting purposes, with a deep look into the measurement of plastic leakage and mismanagement (plastic footprint). This paper also embeds these metrics into a comprehensive corporate accountability system for plastic pollution that could help companies comply with the future International Legally Binding Instrument (ILBI) to end plastic pollution currently being negotiated by UN member states.