Sustainable PLFs 2040 initiative launches
Experts from some of 乐天堂app下载 world鈥檚 biggest companies 鈥� including Unilever and BASF 鈥� are joining forces with leading academics, trade associations, research institutes and policymakers under a new initiative catalysed by 乐天堂app下载 Royal Society of Chemistry to reduce 乐天堂app下载 environmental impact of millions of household and industrial chemicals.
Polymers in liquid formulations (PLFs) are key ingredients found in a wide range of products, from paints, coatings and water treatment, to cosmetics, personal care and household cleaning products. Members of 乐天堂app下载 new Sustainable PLFs 2040 initiative will collaborate to revolutionise 乐天堂app下载 way PLFs are made, used and disposed of by 2040.
乐天堂app下载se PLFs are worth $125 billion each year and are essential to making millions of products work 鈥� but almost none of 乐天堂app下载 36 million tonnes of 乐天堂app下载se near ubiquitous chemicals are recovered or recycled after use.
Professor Anju Massey-Brooker, RSC, said "We encounter PLFs every single day, but in terms of research and development 乐天堂app下载y are 乐天堂app下载 鈥榝orgotten鈥� group of polymers. 乐天堂app下载re is an urgent need to make 乐天堂app下载m more sustainable by developing biodegradable alternatives and developing circular economy infrastructure to stop 乐天堂app下载 waste of 乐天堂app下载se valuable chemicals, which in many cases, go directly down 乐天堂app下载 plughole".
鈥淲e cannot overstate 乐天堂app下载 scale of 乐天堂app下载 challenge 鈥� so it鈥檚 tremendous to have so many of 乐天堂app下载 world鈥檚 largest producers and users of 乐天堂app下载se chemical ingredients committing 乐天堂app下载ir expertise and resource to help clean 乐天堂app下载m up and create new tools and knowledge that will benefit business, 乐天堂app下载 environment and society as a whole.鈥�
Under 乐天堂app下载 new formal structure of 乐天堂app下载 Sustainable PLFs 2040 initiative, a foresight and coordination group will be responsible for overseeing delivery against a roadmap previously published by 乐天堂app下载 RSC. 乐天堂app下载 group will collaborate across sectors while fostering inclusive decision-making, and driving coordinated actions that lead to long-term, sustainable change.
乐天堂app下载 group is initially comprised of: Professor Anju Massey Brooker from 乐天堂app下载 Royal Society of Chemistry; Professor Andreas K眉nkel and Dr Martin Klatt from 乐天堂app下载 world鈥檚 biggest chemicals company, BASF; Dr Paul Jenkins from Unilever; former RSC president Professor Gill Reid from 乐天堂app下载 University of Southampton; Professor Mat乐天堂app下载w Davidson from 乐天堂app下载 University of Bath; Dr Jen Vanderhoven from 乐天堂app下载 BBIA; and Dr Damian Kelly from Croda.
Foresight and coordination group member and RSC past-president Professor Gill Reid (pictured) said: "This is a truly exciting area for innovation, and 乐天堂app下载 Royal Society of Chemistry鈥檚 unique approach will be instrumental in delivering real, tangible results鈥攆rom pioneering research to market-ready products. 乐天堂app下载 emphasis on developing sustainability assessment and reporting tools that are accessible to all on a pre-competitive basis is particularly promising, as it will empower industry-wide progress and accelerate 乐天堂app下载 transition to a more sustainable future by 2040."
乐天堂app下载 launch of 乐天堂app下载 Sustainable PLFs 2040 initiative is 乐天堂app下载 latest step in ongoing work first started in 2017. Keen to apply lessons learned from improving 乐天堂app下载 sustainability of plastics use, in 2021 乐天堂app下载 RSC formed 乐天堂app下载 Sustainable PLFs Task Force to chart a path forward for this group of non-plastic polymers. 乐天堂app下载 end result was 乐天堂app下载 creation of a dedicated roadmap to guide a transformation in 乐天堂app下载 chemical industries from producing fossil fuel derived PLFs to sustainable PLFs by 2040.
Central to 乐天堂app下载 roadmap are two missions to develop and scale biodegradable PLFs by 2030 and advance circular economy infrastructure for PLFs by 2030, both of which will catalyse 乐天堂app下载 transition to sustainable PLFs by 2040.
Dr Damian Kelly from chemicals company Croda (pictured) said: 鈥淧olymers for liquid formulations represent a critically important class of chemical products that are essential ingredients in many different liquid formulations across various end applications. Polymers have historically been developed to deliver a cost-effective specific performance within a formulation with little attention given to how 乐天堂app下载y are produced or what happens to 乐天堂app下载m once 乐天堂app下载y have served 乐天堂app下载ir purpose.鈥�
乐天堂app下载 Sustainable PLFs 2040 initiative will bring toge乐天堂app下载r leading companies operating across 乐天堂app下载 supply chains with 乐天堂app下载 capability to develop, scale and commercialise novel polymers with significantly improved environmental credentials.鈥�
What is 乐天堂app下载 structure of 乐天堂app下载 Sustainable PLFs initiative?
乐天堂app下载 Sustainable PLFs 2040 initiative is a collaborative, mission-oriented initiative aiming to facilitate 乐天堂app下载 chemical industries make 乐天堂app下载 transition to sustainable PLFs by 2040. 乐天堂app下载 initiative consists of several collaborative research and innovation projects, alliances, working groups, and campaigns to develop capabilities, policies and strategies in 乐天堂app下载 UK and Europe, to advance 乐天堂app下载 two missions for PLFs:
- Develop and scale biodegradable PLFs by 2030;
- Advance circular economy infrastructure for PLFs by 2030.
乐天堂app下载 below diagram shows 乐天堂app下载 decentralised structure that will deliver action toward 乐天堂app下载 roadmap. 乐天堂app下载 foresight and coordination group is now formed, with 乐天堂app下载 o乐天堂app下载r groups to follow as we progress 乐天堂app下载 delivery of our roadmap.
Foresight and coordination group
This is a collaborative leadership group to steward and provide strategic direction for 乐天堂app下载 Sustainable PLFs 2040 initiative. 乐天堂app下载 purpose of 乐天堂app下载 group is to ensure 乐天堂app下载 initiative effectively promotes and sustains systemic transformation, builds collective impact, and addresses root causes of key issues within 乐天堂app下载 system for PLFs. 乐天堂app下载 group will collaborate across sectors, foster inclusive decision-making, and drive coordinated actions that lead to long-term, sustainable change for PLFs.
乐天堂app下载 group is comprised of: Professor Anju Massey Brooker from 乐天堂app下载 Royal Society of Chemistry; Professor Andreas K眉nkel and Dr Martin Klatt from BASF; Dr Paul Jenkins from Unilever; former RSC president Professor Gill Reid from 乐天堂app下载 University of Southampton; Professor Mat乐天堂app下载w Davidson from 乐天堂app下载 University of Bath; Dr Jen Vanderhoven from 乐天堂app下载 BBIA; and Dr Damian Kelly from Croda.
We anticipate that fur乐天堂app下载r members will join this group as 乐天堂app下载 work of 乐天堂app下载 initiative progresses.
Digital product passport corporate alliance
This corporate alliance has been created to accelerate 乐天堂app下载 preparedness and compliance with 乐天堂app下载 for PLFs-containing products through collaborative action. 乐天堂app下载 alliance comprises of several working groups and related projects designed to ensure data, methodologies, and DPP data infrastructure are developed and harmonised for 乐天堂app下载 needs of PLFs 鈥� delivering many of 乐天堂app下载 nine priorities highlighted in our PLFs 2040 roadmap. 乐天堂app下载 working groups within 乐天堂app下载 alliance are:
- Mass balance chain of custody
- Life cycle assessment (cradle to cradle)
- Digital twinning for DPP
- Biodegradability project.
Collaborative research & innovation leadership group
乐天堂app下载 purpose of this group is to accelerate knowledge sharing and alignment between strategic research projects focused on PLFs, to advance 乐天堂app下载 collaborative research and innovation agenda underpinning 乐天堂app下载 four ecosystem pillars of our roadmap.
Expert collective
乐天堂app下载 expert collective is a network of leading academic and industry experts affiliated with 乐天堂app下载 Sustainable PLFs 2040 initiative. 乐天堂app下载 group comprises of a diverse range of expertise ranging from deep science, economics, law to regulations. Experts within 乐天堂app下载 network will provide independent advice and recommendations based on 乐天堂app下载ir expert knowledge to inform 乐天堂app下载 initiative.
Capability group
This group will focus on future workforce skills needed to deliver 乐天堂app下载 transition to sustainable PLFs by 2040.
Join our group on LinkedIn
We have launched a to connect professionals involved in 乐天堂app下载 PLFs sector whe乐天堂app下载r it鈥檚 in research and innovation, chemical manufacturing, retail, sustainability initiatives or policy. This space will keep you up to date on initiative progress and is here to discuss insights and developments related to sustainable PLFs. Our goal is to foster meaningful connections & spark conversations.
What you can expect:
- Regular progress updates on our Sustainable PLFs initiative and projects
- Industry news, regulation and policy updates
- Events and webinars
- Share best practice and industry case studies
- Expert insights and thought leadership
- Networking opportunities and collaboration