Repurpose Global, an organization that brings brand leaders, consumers and policymakers together to combat plastic waste, has launched a $1 million fund to give companies equitable access to reuse and refill solutions.
Approximately 70% of plastic reduction is achievable through reuse, refill and new delivery models, according to the UN. However, brands face complex barriers to implementing these offerings, such as inadequate infrastructure, a high cost of adoption and lack of flexible financing.
The Reuse Outcomes Fund is designed to help organizations, especially those with high single-use plastic intensity such as fast-moving consumer goods, foodservice and delivery, grocery, ecommerce and retail, fund new solutions such as:
- Infrastructure for refilling water and other beverages;
- Reuse and reverse logistics models for food and grocery delivery; and
- Returnable packaging in ecommerce and physical retail.
The new fund will operate using Outcomes-Based Financing (OBF): Repurpose Global will fund the implementation of these solutions to achieve measurable and verifiable environmental outcomes versus financial returns. In addition to scaling solutions directly, the fund will aim to tackle systemic challenges associated with increasing penetration of reuse and refill, helping develop frameworks and systems to implement these solutions at scale.
“Imagine a world where everything we use can be given another life. Where fridges stocked with single-use products are replaced with refill stations in every convenience store you walk into, and where the ‘Milk Man’ model of delivering essential goods is the norm as opposed to the exception,” said Peter Wang Hjemdahl, Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Repurpose Global in a statement. “This vision, where reuse beats single-use and is accessible not only globally but for all strata of society, is the guiding philosophy that underpins our new Reuse Outcomes Fund.”
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