Plastics Circularity Investment Tracker
The Circulate Initiative’s Plastics Circularity Investment Tracker, launched in cooperation with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), provides insights into private investments in plastics circularity globally.
- Investment data is available by geography, archetypes and investment categories on deals that took place between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2023.
- Compare investments across archetypes and investment categories across countries.
- View the profiles of 24 global investors in plastics circularity.
For example, the tool can be used to identify the private equity investments in recycling made in India, Indonesia, and Thailand for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021.
An estimated US$ 15.4 trillion in private sector investments and US$ 1.5 trillion in public expenditure are needed between 2025 and 2040 to reduce annual mismanaged plastic volumes by 90% relative to 2019 levels.
However, there is limited transparency around the financing of plastics circularity solutions and a lack of data or resources on investment activity to assess the investment opportunity. Governments, investors, multilateral organizations, and other stakeholders committed to solving the global plastic pollution crisis need to have a clear view of capital being deployed to ensure funding barriers to circularity can be addressed.
An industry first, The Circulate Initiative’s Plastics Circularity Investment Tracker will enable key decision-makers to view the current investment landscape around plastics circularity and understand the extent of the financing gap.
Leveraging deal-level information on private investments since 2018, the Investment Tracker provides unique insights into plastics circularity investments. The analysis centers around the investments channeled to different solutions across the plastics value chain, their scale, and the regions where the investments are taking place.
Scope of the Investment Tracker
The Investment Tracker’s functionality enables users to filter data to reveal previously hard-to-determine insights about investment activity in plastic circularity. Cross-country comparisons through the “Compare Countries” tab allow users to compare the data of individual countries. The “Investor Profiles” tab features the profiles of 24 investors in plastics circularity.
The tool allows users to explore the data utilizing the following filters:
Year
Data provided in the tracker is for the period of January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2023.
Geography
The tracker consolidates deals that have taken place globally. Information on deals was recorded in 100 countries and these are included in the Plastics Circularity Investment Tracker.
Archetypes
Plastics circularity solutions across upstream and downstream products and services, classified into eight archetypes:
- Materials
- Redesign
- Refill/Reuse
- Services
- Operational Platforms
- Digital Mapping
- Recovery
- Recycling
Investment Categories
Investment categories include:
- Accelerator/Incubator Investments
- Corporate Investments
- Financing by Banks
- Individual/Crowdfunding/Philanthropic Investments
- Private Equity
- Initial Public Offering (IPO)
- Venture Capital
Public funding by national, state, or local governments is excluded.
Who this Tool is for
Corporates
Corporates can identify investment trends and gaps in the value chain to inform their business strategies.
Banks & Financial Insitutions
Banks and financial institutions can assess the regions and solutions that have received more investment, which can support their investment and loan allocation decisions.
Investors in the circular economy
Investors can identify market opportunities and the types of financing that have been deployed in order to plan for funding strategies.
Entrepreneurs in the circular economy
Entrepreneurs can identify key sources of financing that have funded plastics circularity solutions, and potentially connect with capital providers.
Testimonials
This is a very helpful tool for those of us working to drive impact and fund solutions to end plastic waste in the environment. Investment of private capital into plastics circulatory is critically needed, but there are a few financial investment vehicles in the recycling and circular economy space, and limited transparency around financial returns; as a result, investors lack a visible pipeline and track record of deals to evaluate opportunities. So bravo to The Circulate Initiative team for this initiative and to bring more much-needed attention to this matter.
Tam Nguyen
Senior Advisor,
Alliance to End Plastic Waste
At WWF Plastic Smart Cities, we recognize the importance of working with social innovators across Asia to identify, pilot and scale solutions to tackle the global plastic crisis. Plastic circularity is key in this equation. Which is why this is reported by The Circulate Initiative is important in providing insights and guidance on where investments are most strategic or needed. A great read.
Yumi Nishikawa
Plastic Smart Cities Lead,
WWF
Resources
Country Fact Sheets
Key country-level data points on plastic material flow, policies and investments.
Supplementary Material
Explore the definitions of key terms used in the Investment Tracker, the detailed research methodology, and the profiled investors.
Explore the Investment Tracker
Use the tool to reveal insights about investment activity in plastic circularity.