The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is the leading authority on the circular economy and enjoys strong relationships with regional and trade media. The Foundation had worked tirelessly to secure commitment from 100+ organisations to pledge action on plastic waste, with an announcement planned at the 2018 Our Ocean conference in Bali. To ensure the New Plastics Economist Global Commitment received world-wide tier 1 coverage they enlisted H+K’s support.

Lead out of London, we worked with our teams across Europe, USA and Latin America to secure widespread media interest, as well as engaging influencers to pledge their support via social media. In total we secured media coverage in 32 tier 1 publications to promote the Commitment – both in the run-up to the conference as a call-to-action to businesses to sign the commitment, and at the launch in Bali. Interviews were arranged with titles including The Economist, Fast Company and CNBC. Broadcast highlights included BBC World Service and Bloomberg, with print coverage in the Financial Times, Times, Daily Mail, EFE, Le Figaro and Deutsche Welle, as well as numerous other leading regional titles. The Commitment also featured on BBC News online, Press Association and Reuters amongst others.

As a result, we were able to reach over 900 million people, securing over 500+ pieces of coverage and achieving all our tier 1 targets. Importantly, the commitment was ultimately signed by 250 organisations, including many of the world’s largest packaging producers, brands, retailers and recyclers, as well as governments and NGOs, ensuring real-world action on plastic waste.