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The End Plastic Pollution International Collaborative (EPPIC) Partnership

EPPIC logos US Department of State Aspen Institute The Ocean Foundation Searious Business

 

Galvanizing global action to end plastic pollution

 

EPPIC is a public-private partnership hosted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with partners the Aspen Institute (USA), The Ocean Foundation (USA), and Searious Business (NL), with initial seed funding from the U.S. Department of State.

EPPIC convenes governments, business, civil society, philanthropies, and others to have reach and create opportunities that no single philanthropy, NGO, company, or national government could create on its own.

See more information on how to apply to join the EPPIC collaboration below

 

Plastic pollution is a global crisis.

 

It transcends national boundaries, affecting our natural world and its biodiversity. It impacts our environment, health, food security, and economies.  Millions of tons of plastic waste enter the ocean each year, and untold millions of tons more pollute lands and waterways.  Plastic waste persists in the environment for centuries, or even longer. To protect the health of our planet and its inhabitants, we must act now to end plastic pollution. 

The End Plastic Pollution International Collaborative (EPPIC) seeks to galvanize global action on plastic pollution by supporting projects around the world, to make the full lifecycle of plastic more sustainable, starting with efforts to change the design and use of plastic products. 

EPPIC is building on existing partnerships and networks established in the various regions of the world. Technical experts from EPPIC’s foundational partner organizations have worked with NGOs and businesses on real-world plastic circularity solutions, developed national plastic inventories in collaboration with governments, convened and facilitated knowledge networks across diverse stakeholder platforms, delivered plastic policy at global and national levels, and promoted innovative action through prizes and grants.

 

Joining EPPIC

 

Become an EPPIC Member! We welcome interested entities working to combat plastic pollution, regardless of sector, to join the partnership today!

This presentation provides you with further information about EPPIC and your role as a Member.

To apply for membership:

  • Fill out the EPPIC Membership Application Form here. Through this form, you will be able to apply on behalf of your organization to become a Member or Partner of EPPIC or request more information about EPPIC overall. 
  • The application will take between 10-20 minutes to fill out. 
  • After your application is submitted, the Host Consortium partners will review the information provided and follow up with you with additional information and next steps. 
  • Learn more about how the partnership began and the Host Consortium organizations below in About the Host Consortium.

If you wish to discuss EPPIC with us, please reach out to the team at [email protected].

Funding
 
EPPIC Grant Program

 

The Grant Program provides in-country entities in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa with the financial resources to address location-appropriate upstream and midstream interventions to significantly reduce plastic pollution and advance circular solutions. These funded solutions aim to have a positive impact on local communities and provide examples of best practices for upstream and midstream interventions for the international community to consider.

EPPIC defines upstream as any interventions after the extraction of raw materials, and midstream as any interventions before an item would be considered waste.

We accept proposals during our open Request for Proposal (RFP) periodsSubscribe to EPPIC News updates to be alerted when we announce new RFPs and learn about the experiences of our EPPIC grantees.  

 

Requests for Proposals (RFP)
 

Applications are now closed for our 2024 RFPs.

Please subscribe to EPPIC News updates to be informed of the next RFPs.

 

Grant Requirements for all RFPs

  • Focus Areas: Location-appropriate upstream and midstream interventions supported by knowledge based in science, indigenous, traditional, and/or other sources to address plastic pollution.
  • Objectives: Reduce plastic pollution and advance solutions to eliminate plastic waste across the plastic cycle.

 

How to Apply

  1. Review the RFP PDFs. Detailed information and instructions are provided in PDFs made available during open application periods.
  2. Submit Your Proposal. Follow the guidelines in the PDFs provided to prepare and submit your proposal.

 

Links to past RFPs

The RFPs shown in the PDF links below are now closed, but are still available for you to browse and consider expectations for future applications.

 

Questions on applying for EPPIC funding?

Reach out to [email protected] to direct any questions about the RFP, application process, or WAVES system. 

 

Funding and Support already provided

 

EPPIC has funded and supported innovative plastic pollution solutions in:

  • Costa Rica (2024)
  • Guatemala (2024)
  • Ghana (2024)
  • Kenya (2024)
  • Senegal (2024)
  • South Africa (2024)

These are some of the grantees we have funded: 

EPPIC Grantee logos 1
The Ocean Foundation

 

Innovation Prize 

EPPIC will develop and launch a plastics innovation prize competition, which aims to promote global efforts to advance plastic circularity with an emphasis on targeting innovations in the upstream and midstream plastic value chain. ‘Upstream’ is exclusive of raw material extraction. The prize, with an initial, tentative prize purse of ~$1 - 2M USD (higher range is contingent on additional Department of State funds and/or additional funds acquired through resource mobilization) ...

Innovation Prize 

EPPIC will develop and launch a plastics innovation prize competition, which aims to promote global efforts to advance plastic circularity with an emphasis on targeting innovations in the upstream and midstream plastic value chain. ‘Upstream’ is exclusive of raw material extraction. The prize, with an initial, tentative prize purse of ~$1 - 2M USD (higher range is contingent on additional Department of State funds and/or additional funds acquired through resource mobilization), will catalyze innovation for location appropriate plastic circularity solutions. The forthcoming prize will support micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), locally appropriate solutions, and/or informal sectors. 

At Aspen Ideas: Climate in Miami, Florida, March 2024, EPPIC announced the intention for an innovation prize competition to be launched at a later date. Further, EPPIC held a roundtable among multi-sector stakeholders to simulate the design process of how these competitions run. In Summer 2024, EPPIC launched a formal request for proposals to seek a partner to design and implement the innovation prize. 

More details about the innovation prize are expected soon. 

Convenings and Webinars

 

As part of the EPPIC program, the Host Consortium plans a set of convenings to engage audiences around the world, including audiences within the EPPIC priority countries. The convenings are designed to include multi-sector stakeholders, connect organizations, and provide an opportunity for collaboration.

If you are interested in attending and/or co-sponsoring an EPPIC convening, contact us at [email protected]. Stay tuned on our website and socials to learn more about convenings on the horizon.

 

Upcoming Convenings and Webinars

 

2025
  • Stay tuned for future convenings as our 2025 planning takes effect.
Past Convenings and Webinars

 

2024

November

  • Redesigning the Plastics Value Chain to Reduce Waste, from Materials to Business Models - EPPIC launched the first of its ‘High-Level Dialogue’ series on November 22, in Busan, South Korea, on the margins of INC-5 for the UN Plastics Treaty. Centred on the food and beverage industry, this dialogue highlighted upstream and midstream product design, with challenges and solutions shared across a wide variety of sectors. 

April

  • Beyond the ...
Past Convenings and Webinars

 

2024

November

  • Redesigning the Plastics Value Chain to Reduce Waste, from Materials to Business Models - EPPIC launched the first of its ‘High-Level Dialogue’ series on November 22, in Busan, South Korea, on the margins of INC-5 for the UN Plastics Treaty. Centred on the food and beverage industry, this dialogue highlighted upstream and midstream product design, with challenges and solutions shared across a wide variety of sectors. 

April

  • Beyond the Plastics Treaty: Putting Policy into Practice - This side event, hosted on the margins of INC-4 for the UN Plastics Treaty in Ottawa, Canada, was focused on ways to foster new collaboration and knowledge sharing among multi-sector stakeholders across the full lifecycle of plastics. During the event, EPPIC highlighted its programmatic goals and launched the EPPIC application for those interested in becoming members of EPPIC.

March

  • Reuse and Refill Solutions: Opportunities to end Plastic Pollution (information webinar) EPPIC’s first-ever webinar, March 22, highlighted how reuse and refill solutions support the aims to reduce plastic pollution. The webinar fostered a robust discussion of reuse systems and what is needed to lift barriers in this space through international legally binding instruments on plastic pollution. We highly recommend viewing the slides presented during this webinar for a solid understanding of Reuse and Refill Solutions; not only for the technology, thinking and strategy behind them, but to see real world examples of how a difference is being made in many global locations as these solutions are being rolled out.   

 

2023

December

  • Plastic Panel at COP28 UN Climate Change Conference, Dubai - EPPIC hosted a December 8 plastic panel at COP28. The panel highlighted examples of circular economy approaches, holding up solid case studies for accelerating change in the plastics industry.

September

  • New York Climate Week EPPIC launched its initiative at an event during NY Climate Week, 2023. It included a call for building networks and inspiring global action on plastic pollution. This event was a chance to formally describe the goals of EPPIC with a diverse set of stakeholders, as a complement to the actions taken by national governments. 
About the Partnership and Host Consortium
 
Primary Donor & National Government Liaison

 

  The Mission of the United States Department of State Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs leads U.S. diplomacy to conserve and protect the global environment, ocean, and space for the prosperity, peace, and security of this and future generations. Read more here.

 

Program Lead & Regional Engagement Coordinator

 

  The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. Since 2014, IUCN has been addressing the impact of plastics globally, with a focus on the marine environment. IUCN supports and builds capacity for countries to effectively negotiate the International, Legally Binding Instrument for Plastic Pollution. Read more here.

 

Policy & Grantmaking

 

  The Ocean Foundation’s Plastics Initiative works to address plastic pollution by engaging with international, national, and sub-national policy efforts. They are an accredited NGO Observer to the United Nations Environment Programme, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution, the Science Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and to Prevent Pollution, and the Basel Convention. The Ocean Foundation works with NOAA to advance the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development by aligning partners, securing financial commitments, and increasing stakeholder engagement, and is implementing a US Department of State grant to establish the Marine Debris Foundation. Read more here.

 

Convenor & Innovation Prize Organizer

 

  The Aspen Institute is a global non-profit organisation committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most important challenges facing the United States and the world. The Aspen Institute Energy & Environment Program (EEP) addresses critical energy, environmental, and climate change issues through creating and facilitating dialogues with people of diverse perspectives to inform, educate, and create collaborative action plans that further an agenda that protects and improves life on this planet. Read more here.

 

Private Sector Liaison

 

  Searious Business is a leading game-changer in the plastics industry, with an overarching mission to reduce plastic pollution at the source. Over the last 7 years, they have strengthened the private sector, facilitated systemic change, and influenced behavioral change within the industry. As an Advisor to the UN on the Global Plastics Agreement, to the Business Coalition for a Plastics Treaty, Reusable Packaging Association, several investors, and in multiple Plastic Pacts, their reach is global. Read more here.

Contact us

 

For inquiries, please email: [email protected].

Follow the EPPIC Host Consortium on social media:

IUCN on LinkedIN, X/Twitter, Facebook 

The Aspen Institute on LinkedIN

Searious Business on LinkedIN, X/Twitter

The Ocean Foundation on LinkedIN