Ocean Plastics & the Microplastics Crisis
An expedition-based convening on the Atlantic Ocean
160 executives, $248B in combined revenue, and previously adversarial NGOs — four immersive days at sea that helped seed the UN Global Plastics Treaty.
Over ten million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean every year. As it degrades into microplastics, it migrates into the food chain, into mountain streams, into Arctic snowpack, and into human tissue. One study found microplastics a million times more abundant in the ocean than previously estimated. What began as a waste problem is now a confirmed global health crisis.
HATCH, commissioned by expedition company Soul Buffalo, designed and executed the Ocean Plastics Leadership Summit — four immersive days on the Atlantic with 160 executives representing $248 billion in combined revenue. Three of the five largest consumer packaged goods companies in the world participated: Dow, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, and Coca-Cola, alongside Clorox, GE, Hasbro, HP, Kimberly-Clark, Colgate-Palmolive, and SAP. They shared the room with Greenpeace International, National Geographic, Ocean Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund, and 5 Gyres — some of them previously adversarial relationships. HATCH's human-centered design stripped participants of their titles and structured each team around actionable 30/60/90-day roadmaps.
Outcomes
16 funded initiatives launched. The Ocean Plastics Leadership Network formed, bridging industry and NGOs for coordinated action. The Zero Hero coalition was established among Clorox, Nestlé, Kimberly-Clark, and Walmart. SAP launched a plastics tracking cloud. Kimberly-Clark committed to removing plastic from wet wipes and diapers. Hasbro pledged to eliminate excess plastic from packaging. Starbucks piloted a circular waste cup program. In March 2022, the United Nations passed the historic Global Plastics Treaty — the most significant international environmental resolution of its kind, committing the world to a legally binding end to plastic pollution.