Listen to this articleBelow is our recent interview with Beatrice Miñana, Communications Associate at Closed Loop Partners:
Q: Could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to your company?
A: Closed Loop Partners is a New York-based investment firm comprised of venture capital, growth equity, private equity, project-based finance and an innovation center. In 2018, Closed Loop Partners launched its innovation center, the Center for the Circular Economy, which unites competitors to tackle complex material challenges and to implement systemic change that advances the circular economy. Closed Loop Partners brings together designers, manufacturers, recovery systems operators, trade organizations, municipalities, policymakers and NGOs to create, invest in, and support scalable innovations that target big system problems.
The NextGen Consortium is a multi-year consortium that addresses single-use food packaging waste globally by advancing the design, commercialization, and recovery of food packaging alternatives. The NextGen Consortium is managed by Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy. Starbucks and McDonald’s are the founding partners of the Consortium, with The Coca-Cola Company joining as a sector lead partner. JDE Peet’s, Wendy’s and Yum! Brands are supporting partners. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is the environmental advisory partner.
Q: Any highlights on your recent announcement?
A: The NextGen Consortium is deploying an additional $10 million commitment, from its Founding Partners, Starbucks and McDonald’s, to continue the Consortium’s work: identifying, accelerating and scaling commercially viable, circular foodservice packaging solutions. The Coca-Cola Company increased its commitment to now participate as a Sector Lead Partner, paving the way for sustainable packaging solutions for its broad customer base. JDE Peet’s, Wendy’s and Yum! Brands will continue their participation as Supporting Partners in the Consortium, and the Consortium continues to invite other brands to join the effort.
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Q: Can you give us more insights into your offering?
A: With the additional $10 million in funding, the Consortium will expand its efforts, including and beyond the fiber cup, to strengthen the sustainable packaging ecosystem. The Consortium will deepen its customer research and testing of reusable packaging systems, explore the circularity of additional packaging materials such as polypropylene (PP), and accelerate the development of more widely recyclable and compostable fiber-based packaging solutions, as well as the infrastructure pathways needed for their recovery. The Consortium’s increased focus on PP is driven by the growing demand for recycled PP in foodservice packaging, and the need to optimize recycling infrastructure to capture the material. With its additional focus on polypropylene, in 2020, the Consortium joined The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition as a Steering Committee member, collaborating to allocate millions of dollars in grants to recycling facilities to improve polypropylene recycling.
Q: What can we expect from your company in next 6 months? What are your plans?
A: The Consortium will begin working with its Partners on its expanded efforts, including and beyond the fiber cup, as outlined in question above.
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Q: What is the best thing about your company that people might not know about?
A: Closed Loop Partners and its Center for the Circular Economy are focused on accelerating the transition to the circular economy, and work across four key sectors to advance circularity: plastics & packaging, food & agriculture, fashion, and technology. We invest and innovate across sectors to extend our impact and advance the circular economy. Managed by the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners, the NextGen Consortium brings together leading brands, industry experts and innovators together to reimagine foodservice packaging, accelerating sustainable and circular solutions to reduce waste.
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