RE-carbonizing chemicals: A key to a sustainable chemical industry

For this reason, and growing global scrutiny of plastic pollution, resource depletion and waste, the shift toward a circular economy is accelerating. Governments worldwide are strengthening regulations, recycled-content requirements, and single-use plastic restrictions, driving companies to rethink how materials are designed, produced, used, and recovered. In parallel, global and local policy shifts, such as national and regional bioeconomy agendas such as the EU Bioeconomy strategy, are increasingly supporting the transition toward biomass and recycled feedstocks in the chemical sector, further reinforcing the shift away from fossil-based raw materials in products.

For Perstorp, advancing circularity is not only a regulatory imperative, but a strategic pathway to remain competitive, resilient, and future-ready. By championing circular solutions, Perstorp helps reduce dependence on virgin fossil feedstocks, expand the use of recycled, bio-based, and CO₂-based feedstock, and minimize environmental impact throughout the product lifecycle. 

This shift is increasingly critical for the chemical sector, where raw materials and end-of-life treatment account for a large share of carbon emissions, often more than 80% of a product’s total footprint. Transitioning to alternative feedstocks (biomass, recycled waste and CO₂) therefore represents one of the biggest levers for carbon emission reduction, both for Perstorp and for our customers’ value chains. By advancing this raw material transition while developing circular and recyclable product solutions, Perstorp is able to unlock new markets, strengthen customer partnerships and contribute to a broader shift toward sustainable consumption and production.

Perstorp supports the chemicals industry transformation to circular material flows, e.g. through innovative products such as the Akestra™ high-performance polyester that enables PET recycling for hot-fill food packaging, as well as through our Pro-Environment Solutions. Pro-Environment are ISCC PLUS certified products that reduce CO₂-emissions and are produced from recycled and/or renewable raw material based on a mass balance with chemical and physical traceability that shift raw materials and reduce lifecycle emissions across the entire value chain.

Developments in the EU

The most progressive work in replacing fossil raw materials is currently taking place in the EU, where a regulatory framework for sustainable chemicals and products is being developed.
Key to such a framework is to create a demand for sustainable products, that in turn creates market pull for chemicals such as Pro-Environment Solutions that drive the shift of raw materials all the way up the value chain. When sustainable carbon sources replace imported fossil raw materials, it strengthens EU’s resilience, it drives much needed investments, and it facilitates the green transition. That is a strong purpose. 

Mind the carbon gap

The current overall carbon demand in Europe is roughly 1,200 million tons. By 2050, this demand is expected to be cut in half, mainly by phasing out or fossil fuels and energy. About one fourth of today’s carbon is sustainable (biomass, recycled waste and CO₂), and by 2050 it can grow with as much as 40 percent. 

Assuming that the EU would utilize the full potential of all sustainable carbon until 2050, there would still be a projected gap of 100-300 million tons between demand and supply in the economy. The efficient allocation of sustainable carbon must therefore be dealt with urgently. 

The need for a sustainable carbon regulatory framework

Today, EU regulations prioritize sustainable carbon to the energy and transport sectors, leaving chemicals at a disadvantage. In order to RE-carbonize material and products, there is a need for a total overhaul of the carbon policy, and to incentivize sustainable carbon use for the chemical sector instead of allocating it to sectors with alternatives.

We believe that it is possible to create a framework that would generate a strong and cost-efficient policy for all sustainable products, instantly also incentivizing the long-term transition to a more competitive chemicals industry in the EU, while driving new investment and reducing CO₂ emissions rapidly – at a manageable cost for consumers.

Such a framework is built around a legal mandate of sustainable carbon in end products sold on the EU market, which create demand pull for sustainable chemicals and raw materials. All sustainable carbon sources must be allowed to compete with each other to allow for competition between different feedstocks and let innovation and local conditions sort out the best solutions. To facilitate a sizeable market and a level playing field between products, the same mandate should be applied to a broad range of product categories. To allow for flexibility and cost effectiveness in the transition, tradeable certificates should be allowed, combined with traceable mass balance to secure an actual shift of raw materials. 

In short, a 20 percent chemical content mandate in end products in the EU would shift 22 million tons from fossil to sustainable carbon, reduce roughly 60 million tons of CO₂ emissions, and drive investments of about €40 billion.