COP30: When World Leaders Stop Showing Up

As COP30 gets underway in Brazil, Re:Water co-founder Matt Crocker reflects on what’s changed — and what hasn’t — since COP26 in Glasgow, where Re:Water first launched.

Rewind to Glasgow, 2021. COP26. We’d just launched Re:Water, and world leaders were quite literally holding our bottles — Biden, Boris, and Ursula von der Leyen.

There was a buzz, an energy, a sense that the world was waking up and ready to do something about climate change.

Fast forward to COP30, and the mood feels… quieter.

This year, just 57 heads of state have shown up — less than half the number who attended in 2021. Back then it was 120.

Half a decade later, the headlines are about political infighting, scandals, celebrity trials. And climate? Barely makes the front page.

You could be forgiven for thinking we’ve all just given up. But we haven’t.

Because while some world leaders seem to have lost interest, millions of people haven’t. They’re still making the switch. Still choosing better. Still proving that change doesn’t come from podiums — it comes from people.

Since that moment in Glasgow, we’ve gone from a start-up idea to supplying tens of millions of bottles. We’ve seen double and triple-digit growth year after year.

We’ve seen cafés, festivals, gyms, zoos, theatres, hotels, and even Buckingham Palace swap plastic for aluminium. From itsu who was the first adopter to The National Trust, M&S, Pret and London Zoo — and hundreds of smaller independents in between — people are making the right decisions.

And that gives me hope. Because five years ago, removing plastic from your fridge or your venue felt like a risk. It made F&B buyers nervous. But now, it’s easier than ever. Proven. Profitable. Popular. The early adopters have shown it works — and millions of consumers have backed them.

Yes, there’s still a lot of noise and greenwashing out there. Not every ‘eco’ option is what it claims to be. But the good news? It’s simpler than ever to make a genuinely sustainable choice — one that actually does what it says on the tin (or bottle).

This year, we were proud to receive a King’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation. It’s recognition that doing the right thing — and sticking with it — really does make a difference.

But the truth is, it’s not just our award. It belongs to every business that made the switch, every supplier that backed us, and every person who picked up a bottle and thought, yeah, that makes sense. A huge thank you goes to you all.

So while the cameras may have turned away from COP, the real movement hasn’t stopped.

It’s happening quietly, bottle by bottle, decision by decision.

Because when the world leaders stop showing up, it’s up to the rest of us to carry on.

If you still haven’t made the switch away from plastic water bottles, or you simply want to explore more, DM me here.