Unilever - Circular Packaging & Waste-Free World

Enriched Corporate · Found: 2026-03-11 13:12

Partners with USAID, UNDP India, and Alliance to End Plastic Waste for circular packaging in Global South. Invests through Circulate Capital Ocean Fund in waste collection in India, Indonesia, and Latin America. Supports Fair Circularity Initiative.

Source: https://www.unilever.com/planet-and-society/waste-free-world

Funding Details

Funder

Unilever plc

Funding Goal

Halve plastic footprint; collect and process more plastic than sold; waste-free world commitment

Funding Amount

Not published for individual partnerships

Deadline

No open call — proactive partnership proposals required (Rolling)

How to Apply

Via unilever.com sustainability contacts; or through PREVENT Waste Alliance matchmaking

Target Region

India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines (active operations)

Official Page

https://www.unilever.com/planet-and-society/waste-free-world/

Last Checked

2026-03-14 20:07

Application Checklist

Eligibility

• Ocean-bound plastic certification (Veriflow, Control Union)

Project Scope

• Collection capacity for PET, HDPE, PP

Constraints

• No open call — partnership negotiations are commercial/procurement
• Scale requirements may exceed what a small NGO can offer

Summary

Unilevers plastic collection partnerships work as dual grant + offtake arrangements. Unilever co-funds the setup and capacity building of collection schemes, then purchases the recovered plastic as certified ocean-bound material. For this organisation, the approach would be: (1) Get certified as an ocean-bound plastic collector through a recognised certification scheme (Veriflow, Control Union, etc.); (2) Contact Unilevers sustainable procurement team in Indonesia, Vietnam, or India; (3) Propose a collection scheme targeting plastic types Unilever uses (PET, HDPE, PP in product packaging). The PREVENT Waste Alliance member platform can provide warm introductions to Unilevers sustainability team.

Historical Context

The CIRCLE Alliance builds on the TRANSFORM program, an impact enterprise accelerator previously led by Unilever, the UK Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office, and EY. Unilever was among the first signatories of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Global Commitment in 2018. Since 2018, Unilever has run 50+ reuse/refill pilots globally. The company grew from 2 recycled plastic suppliers in 2016 to 60+ by 2024. In 2019, Unilever announced its original "waste-free world" commitments. Updated plastic goals were announced in 2024.

Why it was added

Major FMCG company investing in waste collection infrastructure in developing countries, partners with NGOs

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