Effective from 1 October 2019, Jacob Duer has been appointed as the inaugural President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the newly formed not-for-profit organisation Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW). Duer was previously Director of the Chemicals and Health Branch of the UN Environment Programme. He also led the work of the secretariat of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) and the secretariat for a new financing programme on institutional strengthening at the national level to support the implementation of the chemicals and waste related conventions and SAICM. Duer has more than twenty years of experience with the United Nations with focus on the environment and sustainable development.
“Jacob is an experienced, impact-driven, global leader with a breadth of expertise working across a broad range of stakeholders in the public and private sectors,” said David Taylor, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Procter & Gamble, and Chairman of the AEPW. “His demonstrated leadership, passion for promoting sustainability, and track record of building solution-oriented multilateral partnerships will be an invaluable asset as the AEPW grows into this next phase.”
In this newly created role, Duer will advance the AEPW mission to develop, deploy, and bring to scale solutions that will minimise and manage plastic waste and promote solutions for used plastics. This includes plastic reuse, recovery, and recycling to keep it out of the environment. Since launching in January 2019, the alliance has initiated projects focused on: river renewal; municipal and city partnerships; idea incubation; and IT infrastructure.
“Being strongly committed to environmental sustainability, I am honoured to lead the Alliance as a unique solution model to address plastic waste as one of the most pressing environmental issues of today,” said Duer. “Working with all stakeholders, the Alliance will play a lead role in driving sustainable solutions for the future.”
According to the AEPW, it is the only organisation bringing together the entire plastics value chain (manufacturing, packaging, collecting, and converting) and the associated technical, materials, logistics, and engineering expertise. In total, the alliance has committed to a goal of USD 1.5 billion to deliver sustainable solutions over five years.
“As a strategic partner to the AEPW, we are excited about the vision and leadership that Jacob will bring to this role,” said Peter Bakker, President, World Business Council for Sustainable Development. “This is an important inflection point as we build an unparalleled force to systematically and sustainably bring solutions to scale that will end plastic waste in the environment.”