June 23, 2022
(press release)
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SABIC, a global leader in the chemical industry, has announced that its production of a new range of SABIC® polypropylene (PP) compounds and STAMAX™ PP resins based on bio-renewable and advanced recycled feedstock at Genk, Belgium, has received TÜV Nord accreditation under the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS scheme. This certified product offering aligns with SABIC’s extensive TRUCIRCLE™ initiative for accelerating the transition of the plastics industry to a circular economy and meets a globally growing customer demand for more sustainable material solutions. “We are extremely proud of being the first in the industry to obtain ISCC Plus certification for PP compounds and resins produced with feedstock from renewable and recycled sources. This gives our PP customers a valid alternative for enhancing their environmental balance and achieving ambitious sustainability targets,” says Lada Kurelec, General Manager for PP & E4P Business, SABIC. “The large-scale production of these new materials at our manufacturing site in Genk also ensures security of supply, while it contributes to our efforts of mitigating the impact of our products on climate change and fossil depletion.” The ISCC Plus certification honors the implementation of a mass balance accounting system that traces the material flow across complex supply chains from the feedstock to final products. The approach allows OEMs to document and quantify the sustainability of their applications made from certified materials. Moreover, brand owners can use the certification to highlight the sustainable material content of their products, offering consumers a more responsible choice. The mass balance accounting follows predefined and transparent rules, which then define whether a product can be classified as renewable or circular. For SABIC, this means that for each ton of renewable or circular feedstock fed into the production process to substitute fossil-based feedstock, approximately one ton of the output material can be classified as either renewable or circular. In addition, SABIC has performed a life cycle analysis (LCA) comparing the renewable and the traditional fossil-based routes according to PAS 2050 methodology for biogenic carbon accounting. The results show significant Global Warming Potential (GWP) reductions, with near CO2 neutrality achieved at a renewable content of 40 percent. On cradle-to-gate and cradle-to-gate plus end-of-life levels, each kilogram of SABIC® PP compound based on certified renewable feedstock can reduce fossil depletion by up to 40 percent and lessen the carbon footprint of applications by up to 95 percent. Certified bio-renewable based SABIC PP compounds are targeted at high-performance automotive applications, from bumpers and painted or unpainted exterior trim components to interior door panels, instrument panels and visible interior trim. Certified bio-renewable based long-glass-fiber reinforced polypropylene STAMAX resins are targeted at structural automotive applications such as front-end carriers, instrument panel carriers, tailgate structures, door modules and others. Certified bio-renewable based SABIC PP compounds and STAMAX resins can replace corresponding SABIC fossil-based grades with no need of lengthy technical validation, as they offer the exact same level of performance and quality. SABIC’s certified renewable and certified circular polymer products form part of the company’s TRUCIRCLE portfolio and services. The offering also includes design for recyclability, mechanically recycled products, materials based on ocean bound plastic feedstock and closed loop initiatives – all aiming to recycle plastic back into high quality applications and help prevent valuable used plastics from becoming waste.
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