Closed Loop Partners announced the appointment of Grant Collins as vice president of Closed Loop Oceans, its initiative to develop a new funding mechanism to prevent plastic waste from leaking into the world’s oceans. Closed Loop Oceans is a collaborative initiative in partnership with Ocean Conservancy, the Trash Free Seas Alliance, Closed Loop Partners, 3M, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, The Coca Cola Co., the American Chemistry Council and the World Plastics Council.

Research indicates that the majority of plastic debris originates from five fast growing economies in Asia–Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and China. As a result, the initiative will focus on galvanizing investment in waste management and recycling solutions in Southeast Asia.

Collins, who has spent over two decades in the international capital and commodities markets as a financier and a lawyer, joins Closed Loop Partners from Charlotte Square Consulting, where he focused on the development of innovative risk management and investment products with ethical or socially responsible objectives.

“With his multidisciplinary expertise in a broad range of developing economies, particularly those in Asia, as well as his deep knowledge of various investment products,” Rob Kaplan, managing partner of Closed Loop Partners, said in a statement. “Grant is ideally positioned to lead this complex and impactful initiative to bring capital market solutions to bear on a global challenge—improving environmental, social, and economic outcomes across the region.”

“I am delighted to be joining Closed Loop Partners,” Collins said in a statement. “And to have the opportunity of contributing to the development of a funding strategy that will facilitate new sources of public and private investment in Southeast Asia’s waste management and recycling ecosystem while also demonstrating positive investment returns and tangible environmental impact.”

The initiative was launched at the Our Ocean 2017 conference, a global gathering of world leaders to address some of the world’s most pressing ocean challenges. This initiative is designed to fund waste management and recycling solutions in Southeast Asia, with a focus on investments to improve collection, sorting and recycling markets.