The chemical industry is at an inflection point The chemicals industry plays a key role in tackling sustainability challenges such as climate change and pollution 6 . Sustainability is now a mature discipline in business, but the critical nature of the climate crisis is now driving an inflection point for industry. This momentum behind innovation in the chemicals industry is now coming from rising consumer awareness, tighter governmental policy and more stringent regulatory environments. Having learned from plastics, industry must now act quickly to transition to a more sustainable PLFs ecosystem. In practice, this could mean proactively shifting from petrochemicals to a broader range of sustainable feedstock materials from different waste environments such as marine, agriculture and domestic waste; and moving from a linear economy toward a more circular one, whereby waste is minimised and reuse and recycling are maximised.
FOSSIL DERIVED FEEDSTOCKS
SUSTAINABLE FEEDSTOCKS
RECYCLE
FARMING COLLECTION
POLYMER PRODUCER
REMANUFACTURE
PRODUCT FORMULATOR
REGENERATION BIOSPHERE
REUSE
RETAILER
BIOGAS
REPAIR
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
CONSUMER
CONSUMER
COLLECTION
COLLECTION
EXTRACTION OF BIOCHEMICAL FEEDSTOCK
ADAPTED FROM Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Circular economy systems diagram (February 2019) www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org Drawing based on Braungart & McDonough, Cradle to Cradle (C2C)
MINIMISE EMISSIONS TO LANDFILL AND THE ENVIRONMENT
This diagram illustrates a conceptual circular economy framework for PLFs.
We need a whole system approach The scale of the innovation challenge is vast and will require a range of transitions: the transition to biobased feedstocks, the development and adoption of fully biodegradable PLFs, and the adoption of sustainable and circular waste practices. Market forces alone are unlikely to deliver change at the pace and scale required. A transition to sustainable PLFs will require intervention and collaboration across the value chain.
16
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog