WRAP's new office, led by executive director Leah Karrer, will coordinate programmes with partners to address a range of initiatives. This includes following the blueprint laid down by WRAP to address environmental issues linked to consumption which it notes accounts for nearly half (45%) of all global emissions.
WRAP explained the team will focus on citizen-facing campaigns and changing business operations towards more sustainable models.
The NGO believes the opening of a new office in Americas also marks the first steps in developing "key new standards" for circular products, which WRAP reportedly has been working on with partners and companies and is due to release later in 2024.
With offices in the UK, Australia and now in the USA, WRAP works globally with governments, businesses, and communities to deliver practical solutions to improve resource efficiency within textiles, plastics and food system.
Leah Karrer, executive director of WRAP in the Americas, said: "I am thrilled to scale-up WRAP’s work here in the Americas to create a future that is circular. We are launching with a bang – food waste, plastic pollution, and textiles are all under the spotlight – we’ll be changing the key things we consume in our daily lives to a more sustainable model of circular living!"
According to Karrer, WRAP's new Washington office will give it a base from which to scale initiatives in USA, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia and Mexico working closely with partners to deliver lasting, measurable change towards a sustainable future.
The NGO also shared that it will work with in-country partners to develop programmes that fully address the needs of the local area. WRAP already has similar programmes operating in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the UK and Europe.
WRAP said it will also be publishing a report in collaboration with the Ellen McArthur Foundation, on the impact of Plastics Pacts across the world in the run-up to the next round of talks on the Global Plastics Treaty.
It highlighted that this report will outline the impact these voluntary agreements are having in each nation and the case for an ambitious Global Plastics Treaty.
In October 2023, WRAP released a new circular design toolkit with the aim of assisting the textile industry in reducing the environmental impact of textile products at the design stage.
