SINGAPORE: Singapore-based Circulate Capital launched a US$106 mil (RM443.24 mil) fund on Dec 4 dedicated to preventing plastic from entering oceans in Asia.
Known as the Circulate Capital Ocean Fund (CCOF), it is the world’s first investment fund dedicated to addressing Asia’s plastic crisis.
Circulate Capital is a Monetary Authority of Singapore licensed venture capital fund management company with founding investors and partners being among the world’s leading companies – PepsiCo (the first investor), Procter & Gamble, Dow, Danone, Unilever, The Coca-Cola Company and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company.
The Singapore-based fund is also one of the 10 largest Asean-based venture capital funds in the market.
“The good news is that we are able to reduce nearly 50% of the world’s plastic leakage by investing in the waste and recycling sector in Asia, and even more if we invest in innovative materials and technologies,” said Circulate Capital CEO Rob Kaplan, in a statement.
“This is why we are here in Singapore – a strategic hub of Southeast Asia – to prove that investing in this sector is scalable for the region and can generate competitive returns, while moving closer to solving the ocean plastic crisis,” he said.
According to the statement, with 60% of ocean plastic originating from the region, Asia is the biggest source of plastic leakage into global oceans.
It cited the recent Ocean Conservancy Report which identified a net financing gap of between US$28 and US$40 per ton for plastic waste collection in the five top ocean polluting countries in the world – China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
To address the financing gap between available private capital and resources needed by Asia’s waste sector, CCOF will provide both debt and equity financing to waste management, recycling, and circular economy startups and SMEs in South and Southeast Asia focused on preventing plastic pollution.
Circulate Capital has identified more than 200 investment potential opportunities across a range of industries in the region, with the first investments targeted in the coming weeks.
“For the beverage sector, the more recycled content used in any type of packaging such as 100% recyclable plastics, the lower the carbon footprint,” said Matt Echols, vice president, communications, public affairs and sustainability, Coca-Cola Asia Pacific.
“That’s why at Coca-Cola, we have invested in Circulate Capital and have committed to collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle or can we produce by 2030.
“Beverage packaging does not need to become waste. By investing in the waste collection and recycling sector in this critical region, it can become a valuable material used again and again – a step closer towards a circular economy,” said Echols. – Bernama
