New York, NY – 8:00 AM EST, October 28, 2021 – Partsimony is pleased to announce the successful close of a $2M Seed round, led by Closed Loop Partners’ Ventures Group with participation from Contour Ventures, Urban Us, and other top institutional and angel investors. Partsimony is a SaaS network that unifies disparate data from multiple sources to more efficiently manage hardware from prototype through production, bringing superior intelligence to manufacturing supply chains.

Today, hardware companies are dealing with a paradigm shift happening in manufacturing supply chains, witnessing:

• Increases in Commodity Volatility. Volatile raw material costs impact the availability of basic component parts. Banks expect commodity prices to rise ~10% in the next year with Copper up 90%+ from 2020 (Bloomberg). The uncertainty of component availability impacts engineering designs, production schedules and costs. 
• Increases in Frequency and Severity of Supply Chain Risks. Unknowns are the new norm. 94% of Fortune 1,000 companies are still seeing residual supply chain disruptions from COVID-19 (Accenture). Supply chain disruptions are becoming more frequent with increasing climate-related disasters, too. 
• Growing Geopolitical Disruptions. Product costs are driven up by external factors (i.e. reshoring, trade wars, taxes/customs duties, etc.), with additional scope 3 emissions requirements underway.

Executives in the industry recognize that “We’ve been so optimized the last 3 decades on low cost supply that we’ve lost track of resilient supply” (Axios). In this new paradigm, supply chain resilience and speed in decision-making will be an immense competitive advantage for hardware companies. Partsimony is building a cognitive manufacturing supply chain that leverages transactional data to provide deep insights around Manufacturer Discovery, Design Intent, and Supply Chain Resilience.

Similar to a “SaaS hive mind,” Partsimony is building proprietary machine learning models that provide tailored recommendations for both hardware companies and manufacturers, based on their given component design files and manufacturer networks. This enables Partsimony to provide hardware companies with an intelligent manufacturing supply chain infrastructure that is more quickly adaptable to disruptions. 

Partsimony has already been tested and adopted by startups and large enterprises alike. Partsimony uniquely works with a hardware company from initial prototypes up through full-scale production. Case studies from closed beta tests show that the results achieved with Partsimony have saved over 96% in cost reductions and months in lead time.

“Sourcing the right parts on complex hardware products is difficult and has never been more important in this global chaotic and disrupted supply chain. Partsimony’s strong value proposition solves difficult and complex requirements by connecting designers and innovators with manufacturers in a collaboration process that creates intended design outcomes in a cost effective, high quality, and repeatable manner.”

— Marty Guay, Vice President of Business Development, STANLEY BLACK & DECKER

“Partsimony is critical for our business; the platform allows us to spend more time focusing on design improvements than on searching and communicating back and forth with prospective manufacturers.”

— Sam Miller, Founder & CEO, PROTEUS MOTION

The Seed funding will help Partsimony capitalize on this unique moment in global supply chain development and enable manufacturing supply chains to be more resilient.

“We are thrilled to bring Closed Loop Partners’ Ventures Group into the Partsimony family as a partner who brings industry connections, guidance and their fundamental thesis of circular economy to the table. Closed Loop Partners shares our vision of digitizing, optimizing and regionalizing supply chains for efficient and sustainable hardware production,” said Partsimony CEO, Rich Mokuolu. 

“Closed Loop Ventures Group is pleased to have Partsimony as a part of our portfolio. They are meeting a critical need for hardware companies and manufacturers to design with more recycled materials, with less waste, and for recoverability. Their platform aligns with macrotrends of shorter supply chains, more rapid product turns, and increased responsiveness and resiliency to supply chain disruptions,” said Danielle Joseph, Executive Director, Closed Loop Partners. 

This funding round will allow Partsimony to scale their SaaS platform beyond beta and drive value for repeat and new customers. Partsimony is actively working with customers across the automotive, aerospace, robotics, and medical device product segments, and they are open to speaking with all companies building complex hardware products.

About Partsimony

Partsimony is a SaaS network that unifies disparate data from multiple sources to efficiently manage hardware from prototype through production and bring superior intelligence to manufacturing supply chains. Partsimony enables hardware companies and manufacturers to make smart decisions faster, and enhance their supply chain resilience. Learn more at https://www.partsimony.com/ 

About Closed Loop Partners

Closed Loop Partners is a New York-based investment firm comprised of venture capital, growth equity, private equity, project finance, and an innovation center focused on building the circular economy. Investors include many of the world’s largest consumer goods companies and family offices interested in investments that provide strong financial returns and tangible impact. Learn more at www.closedlooppartners.com.

Press Contact

[email protected] 

Rich Mokuolu, Partsimony CEO

MILLVILLE, N.J., Oct. 22, 2021 — The Authority constantly strives for innovation with the goal of “improving your tomorrow.” Its latest project is the new 12,000 square-foot, small-scale Materials Recovery Facility (“MRF”) named New Leaf and located within the Solid Waste Complex of The Authority at 169 Jesse Bridge Road. It will sort, bale, and ship to market valuable local recyclables—including paper, plastic, glass, and metals—from our existing single-stream county recycling program, and it is the first such facility on the East Coast.

In a public-private partnership, The Authority teamed up with circular economy-focused investment firm, Closed Loop Partners, and Canusa Hershman, a leading recycling company, to finance New Leaf, which will empower communities to manage valuable materials locally through small-scale recycling units, manufactured by Revolution Systems. These patented recycling units are less capital intensive than traditional large-scale recycling facilities, with a unique revolving table that aids the sorting process of recyclables. They can capture recyclables that might otherwise escape the initial sorting process, as their design enables multiple chances at recovery rather than just the one chance on a traditional MRF’s linear conveyor belt. In turn, this increases the volume of recyclables recovered and reduces landfill waste.

“Enhancing local recycling capabilities enables the community to benefit from new revenue opportunities, a healthier environment, and new jobs,” says Ron Gonen, Founder & CEO of Closed Loop Partners. “We’re proud to work with The Authority and Canusa Hershman to accelerate a more modern, resilient future for recycling, rethinking the status quo and championing new designs and local, small-scale facilities. This will be a critical part of building a more circular economy that keeps valuable materials out of nature and landfills, and in manufacturing supply chains.”

The MRF at The Authority currently receives an average of 65 tons of recycling material per day and has the potential to scale in anticipation of future growth in Cumberland County. Moreover, the MRF operates onsite at the Solid Waste Complex, deriving its energy from the gases harvested from the landfill also located onsite. Localizing MRF operations eliminates transferring recyclables to another MRF outside of the county, which is an improvement to environmental sustainability and to financial responsibility through lower trucking emissions and lower trucking costs. It is estimated that by localizing the new Mini MRF it will help avoid 1 million miles of trucking over the life of the contract. Regarding the bales headed for market, The Authority shares in their sale price and intends to invest this newfound revenue in future projects for the county.

“It’s been our mission to protect the local environment and simultaneously to improve the economic viability of Cumberland County,” said The Authority President & CEO, Gerard Velazquez, III. “The MRF fulfills both aspects of this mission elegantly, and we believe that it demonstrates a willingness to chart our own course toward a better future.”

The MRF begins its operations in earnest today, but it already has had an impact on our local economy, thanks to new full-time jobs at the facility that management intends to fill with local talent.

Joseph Derella, Director of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, described the new MRF as an example of “green technology job creation” stating, “The Authority continues to be an engine of innovation for our county by laying the foundation for sustainable and smart economic growth.”

Deputy Commissioner Darlene Barber added, “The people of Cumberland County can be proud of The Authority’s leadership in taking this giant step in our goal to create a sustainable future.”

Finally, Mayor Abigail O’Brien of our host township of Deerfield commented, “Partnerships that promote innovation, sustainability, and job creation for our residents will always have a home in Deerfield Township.”

About The Authority
In addition to its environmental related initiatives, The Authority is responsible for the development, financing and project management of projects and programs most vital to sustaining the economic and environmental future of Cumberland County and the State of New Jersey. The Authority works in tandem with the Cumberland County Board of Chosen County Commissioners to foster greater economic growth, business development, and quality of life for all Cumberland County residents.

About Canusa Hershman
Canusa Hershman Recycling is an industry leading trader of recovered fiber, plastics and other recyclable commodities, which utilizes more than a century of market experience to deliver creative and reliable solutions to its trading partners around the world. In addition to recyclable commodities trading, Canusa Hershman has extensive experience in successfully operating material recovery facilities while, through affiliates, is also actively engaged in trading other sustainable commodities including containerboard and industrial resins. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact Val Jones at [email protected].

About Closed Loop Partners
Closed Loop Partners is a New York-based investment firm comprised of venture capital, growth equity, private equity, project-based finance and an innovation center focused on building the circular economy. The firm has built an ecosystem that connects entrepreneurs, industry experts, global consumer goods companies, retailers, financial institutions and municipalities, bridging gaps and fostering synergies to scale the circular economy. Learn more at www.closedlooppartners.com.

Contact
Ben Robinson, Economic Development Liaison
The Authority
745 Lebanon Road
Millville, NJ 08332
856-825-3700 x1234
[email protected]

SOURCE The Authority

Last night four heroes of the reuse movement were announced as winners of the National Reuse Awards (aka The Reusies) among an audience of policymakers, investors, corporate and NGO leaders, and other influential attendees working towards a world without waste. The virtual awards show was presented by Upstream, a non-profit sparking innovative solutions to plastic pollution, in partnership with Closed Loop Partners, a circular economy-focused investment firm and innovation center.

“Never has recognition of heroes in the reuse movement been more crucial as we experience the multiple effects of climate change and plastic pollution in the air, on land and in our oceans,” said Matt Prindiville, CEO and Chief Solutioneer at Upstream. “The recipients of The Reusies are true trailblazers and game-changing innovators of the growing reuse economy. In the not-too-distant future, our hope is that the leaders we’re honoring today will have scaled reuse systems and passed policies in communities throughout the world that make it possible to get what we want and need without the waste.”

Recipients of The Reusies accepted their honor during a one-hour event hosted by TV personality and science communicator Danni Washington. The winners are:

• Activist of the Year: Crystal Dreisbach

  Crystal founded Don’t Waste Durham and has since created GreenToGo, Bull City Boomerang Bag, and The ReCirculation Project. She helps lead their policy work on bags and serviceware and, in 2020, co-founded the Reuse Systems Alliance made up of 35+ reuse companies around the world. Crystal uses her activist platform to build awareness and catalyze action by running workshops and giving talks to a wide range of audiences. “Change is made by demonstrating that new, better ways are possible!”

• Fan Favorite Reuse Company (which was based 100% on public vote): Plaine Products

  Plaine Products is working to make the world less trashy with its reusable aluminum containers for hair and body care products. The bottles are made to be durable so they’re not damaged when customers ship them for refilling. They’re also easily cleaned so they’re safe to use multiple times over.

• Most Impactful Community Leadership: Reusable LA

  Reusable LA is a coalition of organizations working to reduce plastic pollution in Los Angeles to safeguard public health, communities, and the environment. They use legislative advocacy, outreach, and community engagement to promote reuse and refill in Los Angeles and to reduce waste from single-use plastic products and packaging. Reusable LA has taken a leadership role in promoting reusables through policy advocacy with campaigns like #SkiptheStuff and ensures its tools and resources reach LA’s diverse communities.

• Most Innovative Reuse Company: Rheaply

  A leader in the circular economy, Rheaply is a Chicago-based technology company that enables organizations to share and manage underutilized inventory in a more cost-efficient, collaborative, and connected manner. With Rheaply’s Asset Exchange Manager (AxM)TM, organizations can gain transparency about and re-utilize available assets, reducing procurement & storage costs, and avoiding unnecessary waste.

Added Bridget Croke, managing director at Closed Loop Partners: “Scaling reuse systems is critical if we are to address the mounting global waste challenge. The winners of The Reusies demonstrate how individuals and organizations are paving a better pathway forward, working to protect our precious planet by keeping valuable materials in play and out of landfills and the environment.”

The awards were interspersed with thought leadership panels, moderated by Washington, discussing the importance of advancing a more circular economy that included Prindiville and Croke, alongside visual artist and activist Benjamin Von Wong and  Fast Company senior staff writer Elizabeth Segran.

The inaugural show also featured a performance by singer Kori Withers, followed by a virtual party and networking reception for VIPs (“Very Important Protectors” of the planet). For those who could not attend and would like to view bonus footage of the evening’s panels, go to Upstream’s YouTube channel. You can learn more about all the finalists and what was featured in the show by visiting The Reusies official event program. There will also be an episode on The Indisposable Podcast with the full panel discussion in the future; to sign up to receive more information, visit https://upstreamsolutions.org/sign-up.

“The simple fact is that the planet is our spaceship. If we can reconnect people back to the planet, back to earth, back to nature, and see the importance of shifting out of this mode of extinction and wasteful practices, that reconnection will invigorate the reuse movement even more,” commented Washington.

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About Upstream: 

Upstream is an environmental non-profit sparking innovative solutions to plastic pollution by helping people, businesses and communities shift from single-use to reuse. The organization’s first-ever National Reuse Awards (aka The Reusies), will took place virtually on September 30.To learn more about all Upstream programs, visit www.upstreamsolutions.org and follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube.

About Closed Loop Partners:

Closed Loop Partners is a New York-based investment firm comprised of venture capital, growth equity, private equity, project-based finance and an innovation center focused on building the circular economy. The firm has built an ecosystem that connects entrepreneurs, industry experts, global consumer goods companies, retailers, financial institutions, and municipalities, bridging gaps and fostering synergies to scale the circular economy.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (Aug.24, 2021) – The Recycling Partnership today announced a third round of grant funding through its Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, distributing an additional $1.8 million in catalytic grants to advance polypropylene recycling and reduce plastic waste in the U.S. Launched just one year ago, the Coalition has awarded grants that will improve curbside polypropylene recycling access for nearly 6% of all U.S. households. These grants will positively impact nearly 15 million Americans through grants to 13 facilities totaling $4.2 million to date. The Coalition is a cross-industry effort supported by steering committee members Keurig Dr Pepper, Braskem, NextGen Consortium, and the Walmart Foundation, along with other members of the polypropylene value chain.

Polypropylene, sometimes referred to as PP or No. 5 plastic, is used in an array of food and non-food packaging and is in strong demand as a recycled material. Through its third round of grant funding, the Coalition will provide six grants to Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) across the U.S. to boost sortation of polypropylene and support targeted consumer education efforts. To date, the Coalition has awarded grants across the U.S. to increase the recovery of polypropylene by an estimated 13 million pounds annually to be made into new products, such as consumer packaging and automotive parts, rather than being sent to landfills, incineration, and into the environment.  The widespread interest and commitment from MRFs across the U.S. to increase the collection and sortation of recyclable polypropylene clearly demonstrates the market strength for this material nationwide and has catalyzed more than $10 million in additional private investments in polypropylene sortation within U.S. MRFs.

“In just one year, the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition has led the way to rapidly drive significant, measurable change to improve and increase the capture of polypropylene in U.S. curbside recycling,” said Sarah Dearman, Vice President of Circular Ventures, The Recycling Partnership. “The Recycling Partnership is proud to lead the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition and its meaningful work that is inspiring industry investment, supporting jobs, preserving natural resources, and activating the transition to a circular economy in the United States.”

The Coalition makes grants to MRF candidates that face challenges in their ability to effectively sort and recycle polypropylene. According to recent studies of U.S. recycling access, just under 60% of Americans have access to recycling polypropylene. With the Coalition’s strategic grants, it is estimated curbside acceptance of polypropylene will increase by nearly 6% once all equipment is installed by early 2022. This will result in more No. 5 plastic being sent to established end markets and encouraging the shift to a circular economy. Consumers in these areas will also be educated as to what is and isn’t accepted in their curbside recycling.

Domestic reclaimers and re-processors further along the PP value chain acknowledge the supply signals sent by the Coalition’s MRF grants. In response, many made investments to prepare for processing the increased supply of this material for returning it to domestic end markets. Coalition members alone with reclamation and reprocessing facilities made more than $32 million in investments over the past year to increase polypropylene reclamation capacity by nearly 800 million pounds within their North American facilities. Additional reclamation and reprocessing investments are planned or underway for 2022, as multimillion dollar infrastructure investments are still needed.

The geographic reach of the first three rounds of Coalition MRF grantees includes the Northeast, Southeast, Upper Midwest, South Central, and West Coast regions, including California. The Coalition received a strong response to each of the three prior requests for proposals and continues to accept grant applications to further its efforts to advance polypropylene curbside recycling. The next grant proposal request is due Sept. 30, 2021.  MRFs interested in sorting and recycling polypropylene are encouraged to apply.

The six newest grantees are:

• Green Waste, San Jose, Calif.
• Murphy Road, Berlin, Conn.
• Palm Beach County, Fla.
• Pellitteri, Madison, Wis.
• Sonoco-Raleigh, Raleigh, N.C.
• Sonoco-Onslow, Jacksonville, N.C.

The mission-driven work of the Coalition is supported by contributions from organizations representing all segments of the polypropylene value chain, including the Coalition’s newest members, Advanced Drainage Systems, Berry Global, Plastic Ingenuity, and PureCycle. In addition to the aforementioned steering committee members, other members of the Coalition include Campbell Soup Company, EFS-plastics, The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation, KW Plastics, LyondellBasell, Merlin Plastics, Milliken & Company, Nestlé, PolyQuest, Procter & Gamble, Sabert Corporation, St. Joseph Plastics, and Winpak. The Coalition is advised by industry leaders, including Association of Plastic Recyclers, former EPA Administrator Carol Browner, Closed Loop Partners, Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, Sustainable Packaging Coalition, and World Wildlife Fund.

The Coalition is part of The Recycling Partnership’s Pathway to Circularity, an initiative creating scalable solutions to packaging and system challenges to accelerate the shift to a circular economy that uses fewer finite resources.

To learn more about the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, its members, and how to get involved in supporting its goals, visit recyclingpartnership.org/polypropylene-coalition. For MRFs interested in applying for a grant, the application is available on our website.

About The Recycling Partnership

The Recycling Partnership is the action agent transforming the U.S. residential recycling system for good. Our team operates at every level of the recycling value chain and works on the ground with thousands of communities to transform underperforming recycling programs and tackle circular economy challenges. As the leading organization in the country that engages the full recycling supply chain, from working with companies to make their packaging more circular and help them meet climate and sustainability goals, to working with government to develop policy solutions to address the systemic needs of the U.S. recycling system, The Recycling Partnership positively impacts recycling at every step in the process. Since 2014, the nonprofit change agent diverted 375 million pounds of new recyclables from landfills, saved 968 million gallons of water, avoided more than 420,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases, and drove significant reductions in targeted contamination rates. Learn more at recyclingpartnership.org

CLYDE, Ohio – The American Beverage Association and the Ohio Beverage Association, in partnership with Closed Loop Partners, announced today that Evergreen, a plastics reclaimer and rPET manufacturing facility based in Clyde, Ohio, will be the next recipient of a significant investment under the beverage industry’s Every Bottle Back initiative.

The $5 million investment – half from the American Beverage Association in partnership with Closed Loop Partners and the other half from Closed Loop Partners’ Infrastructure Fund – is part of Evergreen’s $22 million expansion project that will grow operations and double production capacity by 2022. This investment helps Evergreen evolve its business model, expanding its services to process recycled PET plastic into food-grade recycled rPET pellets used to manufacture new bottles, while creating a strong local market for recycled plastics.

The expansion project is estimated to yield at least 58 million pounds of food-grade PET in its first year alone, and cumulatively at least 600 million pounds of rPET food-grade pellets over a 10-year period.

“We are excited to support Evergreen’s expansion, which will help Ohio’s beverage companies close the loop on its 100% recyclable beverage containers,” said Kimberly McConville, executive director of the Ohio Beverage Association. “This is the second Every Bottle Back investment in Ohio, building on our industry’s commitment to strengthen recycling infrastructure, increase the collection of our plastic bottles and work towards using more recycled content.”

Spearheaded by the American Beverage Association, Every Bottle Back is a groundbreaking initiative by The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo to reduce the beverage industry’s plastic footprint by getting back more of the industry’s recyclable plastic bottles to be remade into new bottles, as intended. This latest investment will help finance a new building at Evergreen’s Clyde plant, where recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) will be processed and ground into pellets to be used for making new plastic bottles and other consumer goods.

“Through our partnership with Evergreen and Closed Loop Partners, this project – along with several others throughout the region and country – will help capture and process more of our valuable, 100% recyclable plastic bottles so they can be remade into new bottles,” said Katherine Lugar, president and CEO of the American Beverage Association. “This project is another example of the power of private-public partnerships created through Every Bottle Back to build a circular economy for plastic and keep it out of the environment.”

“To build a truly circular economy and meet the demand for food-grade recycled content, bottle-to-bottle recycling is critical,” says Ron Gonen, Founder & CEO of Closed Loop Partners. “This investment in Evergreen helps strengthen the market for recycled plastics and inspire other local markets and states to participate in building a waste-free future. Together, Evergreen and the American Beverage Association have pooled key resources to make this project a priority, underscoring the importance of working across the public and private sectors to reduce the use of new plastic and protect the planet for future generations.”

“Evergreen is pleased to partner with the Ohio Beverage Association and Closed Loop Partners to expand our Clyde recycling and manufacturing facility and accommodate the heightened demand for rPET,” said Omar Abuaita, CEO of Greenbridge, the parent company of Evergreen.  “This expansion project will double our manufacturing capacity of food-grade rPET and create new jobs while building on our company’s commitment to recycling, sustainability and closed loop solutions.”

This investment to expand Evergreen is the 10th of 13 initial projects that the beverage industry has committed to fund under Every Bottle Back, including recent investments in: Central Ohio; Marquette, Mich.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; and Kenosha, Wis. These investments total $10.6 million in committed funding and will yield an estimated 647 million more pounds of PET over 10 years.

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About the American Beverage Associations’ Every Bottle Back initiative

The Every Bottle Back initiative is an integrated and comprehensive initiative by The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo, alongside sustainability leaders Closed Loop Partners, The Recycling Partnership and World Wildlife Fund, designed to improve plastics circularity. These efforts support individual sustainability commitments undertaken by The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo.

Learn more about Every Bottle Back at www.EveryBottleBack.org.

About Evergreen

Evergreen, a division of Greenbridge, was established in 1998 to provide a sustainable, reliable supply of polyester resin for Greenbridge’s portfolio of PET strapping. Today Evergreen is among the nation’s largest plastic (PET) recyclers, collecting and processing more than two billion post-consumer PET bottles and currently produces a combined total of more than 80 million pounds of food-grade rPET annually at its locations in Clyde, Ohio, and Riverside, California. Evergreen is transforming plastic recycling with advanced robotics and state-of-the-art manufacturing lines. We are the preferred supplier of food grade rPET pellets and flake to many top global brands, helping customers increase recycled content in their plastic packaging, achieve sustainability goals and more fully participate in Environmental, Social and Governance programs. Learn More at www.EvergreenTogether.com.

About Closed Loop Partners

Closed Loop Partners is a New York-based investment firm comprised of venture capital, growth equity, private equity, project-based finance and an innovation center focused on building the circular economy. The firm has built an ecosystem that connects entrepreneurs, industry experts, global consumer goods companies, retailers, financial institutions, and municipalities, bridging gaps and fostering synergies to scale the circular economy. Learn more at www.closedlooppartners.com

To schedule an interview, please contact American Beverage’s Press Office at [email protected].

Disclaimer:

This publication is for informational purposes only, and nothing contained herein constitutes an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any interest in any investment vehicle managed by Closed Loop Capital Management or any company in which Closed Loop Capital Management or its affiliates have invested. An offer or solicitation will be made only through a final private placement memorandum, subscription agreement and other related documents with respect to a particular investment opportunity and will be subject to the terms and conditions contained in such documents, including the qualifications necessary to become an investor. Closed Loop Capital Management does not utilize its website to provide investment or other advice, and nothing contained herein constitutes a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto. Information provided reflects Closed Loop Capital Management’s views as of a particular time and are subject to change without notice. You should obtain relevant and specific professional advice before making any investment decision. Certain information on this Website may contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties and speak only as of the date on which they are made. The words “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “optimistic”, “intend”, “aim”, “will” or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Closed Loop Capital Management undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Past performance is not indicative of future results; no representation is being made that any investment or transaction will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those achieved in the past, or that significant losses will be avoided.

Aug 10, 2021 – New York – Sealed Air (NYSE: SEE), a leading packaging manufacturer, announced a $5 million investment in the Closed Loop Circular Plastics Fund to advance the recovery and recycling of plastics in the U.S. and Canada. This announcement follows an initial investment totaling $25 million from Dow, LyondellBasell and NOVA Chemicals, followed by a $5 million commitment by SK Global Chemical into the Fund.

SEE’s investment brings the Fund closer to its goal of deploying $100 million to advance scalable recycling technologies, equipment upgrades and infrastructure solutions. The Fund’s catalytic strategy fills investment gaps to spur recycling markets, attracting additional corporate investors and financial institutions and accelerating capital inflows beyond the Fund’s own commitments. At scale, the Fund’s investments aim to recycle more than 500 million pounds of plastics over the Fund’s lifespan.

“SEE’s investment in the Closed Loop Circular Plastics Fund demonstrates their commitment to be a part of the solution to plastic waste, marking a critical step in building a waste-free future for the plastics and packaging industry. Their scale and deep expertise in the space allow us to extend our reach even further and encourage other companies to invest more capital to scale critical sustainable solutions,” says Ron Gonen, Founder & CEO of Closed Loop Partners. “Current supplies of recycled plastics meet only 6% of demand for the most commonly used plastics in the U.S. and Canada. By investing in recycling infrastructure and innovation, we can ensure plastics are incorporated back into manufacturing supply chains after use, instead of going to landfills or the natural environment.”

As a global packaging, technology and solutions company with multiple brands and extensive reach, SEE’s investment in the Closed Loop Circular Plastics Fund demonstrates leadership in shaping a future that is more sustainable for the plastics and packaging industry. This investment is part of Sealed Air’s SEE Ventures initiative that invests in disruptive technologies and new business models. SEE’s investment in this fund builds on the company’s current sustainability and plastics pledge to design or advance packaging solutions to be 100% recyclable or reusable by 2025.

“We are driving the packaging industry to a future that is more sustainable, where plastics are recovered and reused in a scalable way,” said Ted Doheny, President & CEO of SEE. “Together we can make a bigger impact, and we are proud to join other companies to invest in this Fund and help advance recycling efforts and improve the circular economy for packaging, especially flexible plastics.”

The Closed Loop Circular Plastics Fund, managed by Closed Loop Partners, will invest in three strategic areas to increase the amount of recycled polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) available to meet the growing demand for high-quality, recycled content in products and packaging:

• Access – Increasing the collection of targeted (PE) and (PP) plastics by advancing current and next-generation material collection systems, including transportation, logistics and recycling sortation technologies and infrastructure.
• Optimization – Upgrading recycling systems to more efficiently aggregate, classify and sort the targeted plastics to increase the total amount of high-quality plastics, including food-grade and medical-grade plastics, sent for remanufacturing.
• Manufacturing – Investing in facilities and equipment that manufacture finished products, packaging or related goods using recycled content, including recycled PE and PP.

Since its founding in 2014, Closed Loop Partners’ existing portfolio of more than 50 investments has diverted more than 4,600 million pounds of material from landfills and back into manufacturing supply chains. Building on this, the Closed Loop Circular Plastics Fund will deploy a flexible mix of debt and equity financing, and will also aim to stimulate mainstream co-investments, including those from financial institutions, into circular solutions for plastics to further accelerate impact at scale.

About the Closed Loop Circular Plastics Fund at Closed Loop Partners

The Closed Loop Circular Plastics Fund provides catalytic financing to build circular economy infrastructure and improve the recovery of polypropylene and polyethylene plastic in the U.S. & Canada, returning plastics to more sustainable manufacturing supply chains for use as feedstock for future products and packaging. Learn more about the Fund’s investment criteria and apply for funding here.

The Fund’s goal of optimizing recovery infrastructure is one part of Closed Loop Partners’ broader initiative of Advancing Circular Systems for Plastics. This initiative prioritizes scaling reuse and refill models and reducing material usage in design, while bolstering the recovery infrastructure to address plastics waste.

About Closed Loop Partners

Closed Loop Partners is a New York-based investment firm comprised of venture capital, growth equity, private equity, project-based finance and an innovation center focused on building the circular economy. The firm has built an ecosystem that connects entrepreneurs, industry experts, global consumer goods companies, retailers, financial institutions and municipalities, bridging gaps and fostering synergies to scale the circular economy.

About Sealed Air

Sealed Air (NYSE: SEE) is in business to protect, to solve critical packaging challenges, and to make our world better than we found it. Our packaging technology, solutions, and systems create a safer, more resilient and less wasteful global food supply chain, enable e-commerce, and protect goods transported worldwide.

Our globally recognized brands include CRYOVAC^® brand food packaging, SEALED AIR^® brand protective packaging, AUTOBAG^® brand automated systems, BUBBLE WRAP^® brand packaging, and SEE^™ Automation solutions.

SEE’s Operating Model, along with industry-leading experts in materials, engineering, technology, and science are driving our innovative solution systems to be more sustainable, automated, and digitally connected.

SEE is leading the packaging industry to create a more environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable future and has pledged to design or advance 100% of its packaging materials to be recyclable or reusable by 2025, and a bolder goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions in its global operations by 2040.The company is also committed to a diverse workforce and inclusive culture through its 2025 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion pledge.

SEE generated $4.9 billion in sales in 2020 and has approximately 16,500 employees who serve customers in 117 countries/territories. To learn more, visit sealedair.com.

Disclaimer:

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