In 2019, we invited 165 leaders representing corporations, NGOs and government organizations, on a ship bound for the Sargasso Sea – home to the North Atlantic Ocean Gyre. This area’s unique Sargasm seaweed ecosytem, acts as a net for plastic, tallowig participants to see the gravity of the epidemic first hand.

By curating break out groups of attendees, allowing opposing interests within the plastic supply chain, to discuss the problems they face and create mutually beneficial solutions that meet the following goals:

• Achieve PCR Product Goals
• Seek Alternative Materials
• Build Viable Supply Chains
• Build a Plastic Off-Set Credits Market

Out of this Summit, four new Action Accelerators were born.

POW (Plastic Pickers Operational Working Group) The single largest issue for waste pickers has been access and empowerment within global markets. This program aims to offer health care, living wage training, and micro-financing loans with project funding.

Zero Plastic Waste Communities This exercise in bringing the circular economy (and a zero plastic waste footprint) to coastal and island villages of the Global South and share those learnings with similar sized areas.

Zero Hero This program was developed with the intention of educating consumers on alternatives to plastic with best-in-class packaging solutions.

Material Metabolism Based on the foundational principles of Green Chemistry, this multi-stakeholder shared IP factory aims to develop new materials as an alternative to replace plastics.

Leveraging the expertise of our OPLN member network, we develop ongoing experiential, action-oriented summits, both virtual and on-the-ground. By gathering this diverse range of interests, we invariably create a healthy tension to find common ground and address everyone’s best interests at speed and scale.