From the Sector

Stahl, an active proponent of responsible chemistry, has been awarded the highest EcoVadis Platinum rating, placing it within the top 1% of companies assessed by EcoVadis. The award underlines Stahl’s commitment to collaborating with its partners to reduce its environmental impact and build a more responsible and transparent supply chain.

EcoVadis is a globally recognized evidence-based assessment platform that reviews the performance of more than 90,000 organizations across key sustainability criteria. These include environmental impact, labor and human rights standards, ethics, and sustainable procurement practices. The latest report from EcoVadis highlights Stahl’s positive progress across all these areas and builds on the Gold rating achieved by the company in 2021. Stahl’s 2030 target is to maintain the EcoVadis Platinum rating by working closely with its value-chain partners to help them reduce their environmental impact – including by supporting their transition to renewable feedstocks. In 2021, 80% of Stahl’s total spend on raw materials was supplied by EcoVadis-rated suppliers.
 
The new EcoVadis rating comes as Stahl accelerates its efforts to ensure a more responsible and transparent supply chain. Recent steps toward this goal have included establishing a dedicated Supply Chain Transparency division within the company’s Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) department. The division will be tasked with coordinating a new product development framework that prioritizes the responsible sourcing of raw materials. Furthermore, in July 2022, Stahl submitted a new greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target, including a specific commitment regarding the company’s Scope 3 upstream emissions. Stahl aims to reduce these by at least 25% over the next 10 years, compared with the base year (2021). Stahl expects to achieve this reduction primarily by working with its suppliers to replace fossil-based raw materials with lower-carbon alternatives.

• Aims to tackle the immense textile waste generated in urban environments, on the back of import bans of waste materials
• Addresses the shortcomings of current textile recycling technologies, which are unsuitable for urban settings due to the use of heavy chemicals
• Technologies developed by the newly-formed RGE-NTU Sustainable Textile Research Centre will be test-bedded in RGE’s pilot urban-fit textile recycling plant, projected for completion as early as 2024

Royal Golden Eagle (“RGE”), a global group of resource-based manufacturing companies, which includes a world-leading viscose fibre producers Sateri and Asia Pacific Rayon (APR), is developing urban-fit, closed-loop textile-to-textile recycling solutions, through the newly-formed RGE-NTU Sustainable Textile Research Centre (RGE-NTU SusTex). This is a five-year research collaboration between RGE and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (“NTU”), to accelerate innovation in textile recycling that can be deployed in urban settings. The research centre will develop new technologies to recycle textile waste into fibre and create new, next-generation eco-friendly and sustainable textiles.

This move comes on the back of the tightening of waste import bans in countries such as China, India and Indonesia, which are among the world’s largest waste processors. The stricter import bans have left cities in need of viable local textile recycling solutions to tackle the immense textile waste generated.

RGE Executive Director, Mr Perry Lim, said, “Current textile recycling technologies, which rely primarily on a bleaching and separation process using heavy chemicals, cannot be implemented due to environmental laws. At the same time, there is an urgent need to keep textiles out of the brimming landfills.” He added, “As the world’s largest viscose producer, we aim to catalyse closed-loop, textile-to-textile recycling by developing optimal urban-fit solutions that can bring the world closer to a circular textile economy.”

Globally, an estimated 90 million tonnes of textile waste is generated and disposed of every year, with less than 1% being upcycled into new clothing or other textile materials. By 2030, the amount of global textile waste, which currently accounts for almost 10% of municipal solid waste, is expected to reach more than 134 million tonnes. The textile industry is also responsible for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions – more than international flights and maritime shipping combined.

At present, most of the available textile recycling technologies are open-loop, where textile waste is typically downcycled to lower-quality products (insulating materials, cleaning cloths, etc.) or be used in waste-to-heat recycling.

“Closed-loop textile-to-textile recycling processes, particularly chemical recycling, are still under development. Scaling up the technologies to industrial scale remains a challenge. A key bottleneck is that refabricating textile waste into fibre needs purity standards for feedstock. However, most of the clothes that we wear are made of a mixture of different synthetic and natural fibres, which makes separating the complex blends of materials challenging for effective recycling.

“Our aim is to address this industry pain point by developing viable solutions that use less energy, fewer chemicals and produces harmless and less effluents, and then potentially scale up across our global operations,” Mr Lim said.

To tackle the key challenges in closed-loop textile recycling, RGE-NTU SusTex is looking into four key research areas, namely cleaner and more energy efficient methods of recycling into new raw materials, automated sorting of textile waste, eco-friendly dye removal, and development of a new class of sustainable textiles that is durable for wear and, at the same time, lends itself to easier recycling.

Technologies developed by RGE-NTU SusTex will be test bedded at RGE’s pilot urban-fit textile recycling plant in Singapore, which is projected for completion as early as 2024. If successful, RGE has plans to replicate the plant in other urban cities within its footprint.

Genomatica (Geno) alongside longtime collaborator Aquafil [ECNL:IM] successfully completed the first demonstration scale production runs for plant-based nylon-6. The material is intended to reshape the $22B nylon industry, enabling brands to meet demand from consumers for sustainable everyday materials from apparel to automotive parts to carpets. Geno and Aquafil have produced the first several tons of plant-based nylon-6 building block caprolactam, have converted it to nylon-6 polymer, and are now in the process of transforming it for evaluation in nylon applications such as yarns for textile and carpet and engineering plastics as part of pre-commercial quantities from demonstration production taking place in Europe.

The companies have been collaborating to first produce pilot-scale quantities of plant-based nylon-6 and have now advanced to produce pre-commercial quantities at demonstration scale which will help determine the final design of future commercial plants. The material will go to leading global brands and their value chain partners who are eager to explore and develop renewable products, create showcase goods and test feedback with customers.

Plant-based nylon-6 is Geno’s third major product line on a path to commercialization. The company has executed high impact deals with a range of brands to accelerate the global commercialization of sustainable materials, with the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100 million tons in upcoming years. Recent milestones advancing the sustainable materials transition include: a collaboration with lululemon (NASDAQ: LULU) to bring plant-based materials into lululemon’s products, a production milestone with partner Covestro (OTCMKTS: COVTY) for plant-based HMD used in sustainable coatings, and a partnership with Asahi Kasei (OTCMKTS: AHKSY) and a newly formed venture with Unilever (NASDAQ: UL) to commercialize and scale plant-based alternatives to feedstocks like palm oil or fossil fuels, to make key ingredients used in everyday cleaning and personal care products.

• Sustainability Report 2021 combines financial and non-financial performance indicators
• 2011-2021: 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per metric ton produced. 51.7% renewable source energy achieved
• ESG criteria (environmental impact (E), social values (S), organizational governance (G)) determine sustainability strategy

The new RadiciGroup Sustainability Report has been published. With the goal of continuous improvement, the 2021 report has a broader reporting boundary compared to prior years and takes into consideration all the Group companies, including sales and service companies. Over 30 sites located across Asia, North America, South America and Europe have provided their 2021 data on economic, social and environmental performance.

Not only indicators of a financial nature but also measures of environmental impact (E), social values (S) and good organizational governance (G): the latter so-called ESG criteria have become a priority for RadiciGroup, which is preparing for the new European Union non-financial reporting directive in order to contribute to the transition towards a fully sustainable economic system and increase the value of its companies.

On the environmental front, the themes of climate change and decarbonization are RadiciGroup priorities and part of a policy aimed at the uncoupling of growth and resource usage. The Group undertakes to lower emissions from production and choose limited-impact energy sources. This commitment is confirmed by the numbers: in the 2011-2021 period, total emissions per metric ton produced were reduced by 60%, while renewable source energy used by the Group reached 51.7%. Specific investments to decrease environmental impact are ongoing: in 2021, EUR 3.1 million were allocated to introduce best available techniques and improve emissions abatement and energy efficiency.

RadiciGroup promotes professional growth by valuing competence and investment in training: Group training hours once again rose after the pandemic period from 36,000 hours in 2020 to 46,000 hours in 2021. The training method was often a hybrid, taking advantage of aspects experimented with during the pandemic, that is, less traveling and use of facilities in favour of higher groupwide attendance, without the need for participation limits. Fifty-five percent of total training hours was dedicated to health and safety, which has yielded positive results based on the related indicators.

Angelo Radici, president of RadiciGroup: “Today, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is our main guideline on sustainability issues. It shows us an ambitious scenario and urges us to confront a multitude of challenges that affect our enterprise from every point of view. We try to be quick to react and tenacious, staying faithful to our roots and our style, but expanding our perspective to become increasingly more competitive and proactive in the businesses we are engaged in. From the viewpoint of achieving less environmental impact in the future, we propose to be an enabler and facilitator for our stakeholders on themes such as the circular economy, where we see ourselves as protagonists in ecodesign and recycling, as well as innovation, which we put at the service of anyone who is processing and using our products, so as to offer real sustainability solutions together.”

• Goal: to further reduce the textile value chain’s impact on people and planet      

As the textile industry continues to grapple with evolving regulations, increased consumer and stakeholder pressure to meet sustainability goals, and the lack of verified data, bluesign® has updated its service offerings to help brands, manufacturers and chemical companies to better understand and manage their value chains.

The new initiatives expand Bluesign’s core competencies of reducing impact across the supply chain, providing reliable, third-party verified data, mitigating the use of hazardous chemicals through input stream management and replacing substances with bluesign® APPROVED chemistry (a positive list of chemical products with less impact on people and planet). Bluesign’s high value services are available for all companies willing to reduce the impact of their value chain without compromising on quality.     

Bluesign is extending its System Partnership services and launching DATA SERVICES and IMPACT SERVICES for brands and manufacturers. These tiered service packages provide expanded capabilities that enable brands to actively monitor and manage their supply chain through Bluesign verified impact data, covering the critical measures of water consumption, energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, chemical consumption, and waste.

DATA SERVICES allow brands and manufacturers to access data from its unique supply chain and give a snapshot of their impact. Through the IMPACT SERVICE package, companies are provided this data plus a foundational assessment of its overall performance and detailed analysis of its suppliers.

The new IMPACT SERVICE enables manufacturers to present their achievements in impact reduction and their excellence in resource management.  The new tiered packages will allow companies to incrementally implement Bluesign’s services with the ultimate goal of attaining full SYSTEM PARTNERSHIP which includes company-specific action plans. At all service levels, a yearly impact report or dashboard is provided; access to this data enables accurate analysis for decision-making and reporting both internally and externally.

• Joining Science Based Targets initiative

ith its Advance Sustainability Strategy 2025 launched in 2018, Autoneum defined ambitious goals in the areas of environment, society and governance. In the past year, significant quantitative and qualitative improvements were achieved, as shown in the Corporate Responsibility Report 2021 published today. For example, CO2 emissions were reduced in 2021 and the proportion of reused production scrap (recycling) was significantly increased.

Following Autoneum’s decision last year to extend its environmental targets with quantifiable targets for all direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions and a time horizon to 2027, the Company has recently signed the declaration to join the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Autoneum acknowledges the urgent need for action and will submit its ambitious, science-based targets to the SBTi to reduce CO2 emissions in the near term. In addition, Autoneum is reporting its Scope 3 emissions in full for the first time. In line with the strategic goal of continuously reducing electricity purchases from fossil fuels and replacing them with renewable energies, ten plants worldwide were converted to renewable energies in 2021.

In the past year, Autoneum again implemented a large number of projects in the areas of “Sustainable Products and Production Processes”, “Fair and Attractive Workplace”, “Good Corporate Citizenship” and “Responsible Supply Chain Management”: 29 eco-efficiency projects with a focus on materials efficiency and recycling contributed to more environmentally friendly production and correspondingly more sustainable components worldwide. The result was a significant reduction in waste and a further optimization of processes for a range of products. Moreover, new eco-efficient products were successfully launched on the market.

A complete overview of all targets and activities during the past year can be found in the Corporate Responsibility Report 2021.

• Strategy and purpose affirm Borealis Group vision to be a global leader in advanced and sustainable chemicals and material solutions
• Sustainability at the centre of all activities, supporting OMV Group’s ambition for a net zero business by 2050
• Strong foundation supports continued geographic expansion with enhanced focus on Middle East and Asia, North America

Borealis announces the introduction of the Borealis Strategy 2030. At the core of this strategic evolution is sustainability, which is supported by the Borealis foundation of dedication to safety first, its people, innovation and technology, and performance excellence. This foundation powers continued geographic expansion and the ongoing transformation towards the circular economy. The strategy stipulates new and more ambitious sustainability targets with regard to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, energy consumption, and the circular economy. Underlying the Borealis Strategy 2030 is an evolved purpose, “Re-inventing Essentials for Sustainable Living,” whose intent and spirit is shared across the OMV Group.*

* See attached document for more information.

Based on the good business development in all four Business Units as well as the mostly successful passing on of increased costs for raw materials, energy and transport to customers, the Board of Management of SGL Carbon SE expects to exceed the given guidance for the fiscal year 2022. Accordingly, SGL Carbon SE is increasing its sales and earnings guidance for fiscal year 2022.

The Company expects to exceed the upper end of the stated range of its Group EBITDApre (earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation adjusted by non-recurring items and one-time effects) guidance for the fiscal year 2022 of EUR 110 - 130 million and is raising its EBITDApre guidance for 2022 to EUR 130 - 150 million. Correspondingly, EBITpre1 (earnings before interest and tax adjusted by non-recurring items and one-time effects) is now forecasted to be between EUR 70 - 90 million (previously: EUR 50 - 70 million). The sales guidance is also raised to around EUR 1.1 billion for the current fiscal year, originally expected to be at the level of the previous year (EUR 1,007.0 million).

In line with the development of earnings, the forecast for return on capital employed (ROCE) of originally 5% - 7% is raised to 7% - 9%. The expectations for free cash flow remain unaffected by the forecast increase. Free cash flow is still expected to be significantly lower in 2022 than in the previous year (previous year: EUR 111.5 million).

The new forecast for fiscal 2022 has been drawn up on the basis of the prevailing market environment and assumes no deterioration in conditions, in particular due to the war in Ukraine and its consequences for the global economy. In particular, it is assumed that sufficient electricity and gas will be available and production lines will remain in operation. The communicated medium-term targets up to 2025 remain unaffected by the forecast adjustment.

SGL Carbon will publish its 2022 half-year figures as planned on August 4, 2022.

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL) reported a strong 1Q22 result, building on its record FY 2021 performance as the pandemic continued to retreat, driving demand across the company’s global integrated portfolio.

IVL achieved 1Q22 Core EBITDA of US$650 million, up 41% QoQ and 77% YoY, and a 4% increase in production volumes to 3.80 MMT. All three of IVL’s business segments grew as the company’s leading global position benefited overall in an environment of higher crude oil prices, increased ocean freight rates and a strengthening US dollar, led by resurging consumer demand and global mobility.

IVL’s Integrated Oxides and Derivatives (IOD) business benefits from a high crude oil price environment, as its shale gas advantage supports MTBE and MEG margins. As ocean freight rates increase, IVL’s PET and Fibers segments gain due to increased import parity pricing in Western markets, where about two thirds of its portfolio is situated. Management’s agile response to hedging and levying surcharges has helped to partially recuperate the surge in energy and utility costs in Europe as a consequence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The re-opening of economies bodes well for demand across IVL’s portfolio. However, China’s ongoing pandemic lockdowns impacted downstream polyester demand resulting in weakened MEG spreads. IVL’s businesses trade in US dollars and a strengthening dollar has positive impact, reducing conversion costs in emerging economies where IVL has a strong local presence.

Combined PET segment reported Core EBITDA of US$435 million, up 63% QoQ and 67% YoY supported by the reset of PTA/PET contracts at the end of 2021. IVL expects the tight supply-demand environment to continue through 2022, boosted by the upcoming peak summer season.

IOD segment achieved Core EBITDA of US$126 million, up 3% QoQ and 258% YoY as MTBE margins benefited from higher crude oil prices, demand remains strong for downstream products, and as the commissioning of the Lake Charles cracker contributes to earnings in 2022. The integration of the Oxiteno acquisition, completed in April, will bring additional upside to IOD from 2Q22.

Fibers segment delivered Core EBITDA of US$85 million, an increase of 4% QoQ and 17% YoY. Demand across the three Fibers verticals is stable with domestic sales yielding better profitability, while higher freight rates weighed on margins on export volumes from Thailand, Indonesia and India, and increased energy and utility costs impacted European operations.

1Q22 Performance Highlights

• Consolidated Revenue of US$4,444M, an increase of 12% QoQ and 37% YoY
• Record Reported EBITDA of US$784M, a YoY growth of 63%, and Core EBITDA of US$650M, a YoY growth of 77%
• Production volumes up 4% YoY to 3.80 MMT
• Reported Net Profit of THB 14,070M, Core Net Profit of THB 10,578M
• Reported EPS of THB 2.47 (LTM1Q22: 5.98) and Core EPS of THB 1.85 (LTM1Q22:4.96)
• Record Core EBITDA Margin at 15%

The Techtextil and Heimtextil Summer Special exhibitions, taking place together in Frankfurt from June 21-24, represent an opportunity for Monforts to showcase its finishing and coating technologies for two of its major markets – especially at a time when energy prices continue to soar for textile manufacturers in Europe.

Existing customers of Monforts include many manufacturers in the field of home textiles, as well as those making geotextiles, automotive fabrics and other functional materials – all of whom will be well represented in Frankfurt this June. Dedicated Montex lines have also been supplied to producers of airbags, flame retardant barrier fabrics and spacer fabrics, as well as high-temperature filter materials.

Energy prices are rising steeply everywhere and a particular emphasis for Monforts in Frankfurt will be on the energy and heat recovery that can be achieved with Montex stenters, through features such as better insulation of the treatment chambers or the MonforClean system, in which waste heat from the drying process is used to pre-heat the drying air resulting in a radical reduction in the conventional heat supply required compared to gas and thermal oil heating. The modular system for heat recovery can also be extended for exhaust air cleaning and odour elimination. Monforts can provide a range of further resource-saving and energy recovery options tailored to each individual line installation including modification of the heating source.

With the Qualitex 800 visualization software, all article-specific settings can be stored and the formulations for thousands of treatment processes called up again at any time. Individual operators can also personalise their dashboards with the most important machine functions and process parameters.

The Qualitex 800 system is available for the automatic and continuous operation of the company’s Montex stenters, as well as its Thermex continuous dyeing ranges, Monfortex shrinking systems and Montex®Coat coating units.

Monforts Montex®Coat coating units serve an equally diverse number of markets, including tents, tarpaulins and awnings, black-out roller blinds and sail cloth, automotive interior fabrics and medical disposables. Full PVC coatings, pigment dyeing or minimal application surface and low penetration treatments and solvent coatings (in explosion-proof conditions) with knife coating, roller coating or screen printing can all be accommodated with this system.

All of these very different materials require coating and finishing for maximum efficiency, using Monforts technologies which provide the ultimate in flexibility and the ability to switch quickly from one fabric run to the next, without compromising on the economical use of energy or raw materials.

The Monforts EcoApplicator offers further potential for sustainably achieving perfect finishes via a precise direct application system, as an alternative to conventional padding – where fabrics are immersed in a bath of the required finishing chemicals. It can significantly further reduce the energy and water required and finishes can be applied on just one side of the fabric, or both, and even separately on each side, to be sealed in place via different heating zones in the stenter.