From the Sector

Elkem Silicones has been honored for its commitment to sustainable businesses, receiving awards in two categories of the SEAL Awards. This recognition underscores our comprehensive approach to our ESG strategy, from executing our climate roadmap to developing silicone solutions supporting circularity.
Environmental Initiative Award:

The innovative Industrial Symbiosis for Silicones value chain initiative has been recognized for the recycling of hydrochloric acid (HCl) waste into valuable raw materials for specialty silicones.

This approach not only reduces waste and CO2 emissions but aligns with the company’s ambition to develop and scale up new technologies and processes to maximize raw material value, starting with in-house industrial waste.
This closed-loop system has already delivered a carbon footprint reduction of up to 6.5% in one of our product ranges, with the potential to achieve up to 14% in the midterm.

Sustainable Product Award
SILCOLAPSE™ EASY 10, honored with the Sustainable Product Award, is the result of an intensive R&D program aimed at formulating an optimal solution for foam control in the plastic recycling sector.

This product addresses the critical issue of foam formation during the washing and wastewater treatment stages of recycling, which are essential for reducing environmental impact and improving process efficiency.

In industrial trials, SILCOLAPSE™ EASY 10 has shown up to a 50% reduction in antifoam usage, leading to lower CO2 emissions and enhanced productivity. This innovation aligns with Elkem's commitment to supply industries enabling the green transition.

Bcomp, a company in high-performance, natural fibre composites for the mobility-, recreational-, and mass transportation sectors, has been awarded the 2024 Altair Enlighten Award with BMW M GmbH, a renowned performance car subsidiary of BMW Group, for the BMW M Visionary Materials Seat, alongside other BMW M GmbH partners in the project. Manufactured with Bcomp’s ampliTex™ bio-based materials, the seat won in the Sustainable Process category.

The award-winning seat design re-envisions the manufacture and component materials to introduce a lighter, circular product that meets the demands of large-scale vehicle production. The seatback features a fully bio-based, high-performance natural fibre layup with ampliTex™-PP composite. By combining the structural and aesthetically pleasing visual properties of the material in one manufacturing step, production is both more efficient and dematerialised.

The accent has been on Design for Circularity, meaning that in addition to using natural and recycled materials, the BMW M Visionary Materials Seat’s recyclability has been taken into account right from the start of development. Less complex assemblies and monomaterials that can be separated by type enable the recyclability of the seat at the end of its life. Flax fibre composites are CO₂e-neutral from cradle to gate, and can reduce manufacturing-related emissions of high-performance composite parts by up to 85% compared to carbon fibre, depending on the application. Compared to current large-scale automotive plastic parts, Bcomp’s material solutions can reduce component weights by up to 50%, thanks to their low density and high stiffness.

The seat is a development project designed and engineered by long-time collaborators, BMW M GmbH and Bcomp, along with BMW Designworks, Automotive Management Consulting GmbH, Gradel Lightweight Sàrl and Lasso Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH. BMW M GmbH and Bcomp have already delivered innovations in previous development projects for high-end road cars and series application for race cars, such as interior and bodywork components for the BMW M4 GT4, bodywork for the BMW M4 DTM, and cooling shafts for the BMW iFE.20 in Formula E.

The annual Enlighten Awards are sponsored by Altair, a global leader in computational science and intelligence. They celebrate lightweighting innovations that reduce emissions, materials and energy consumption, while advancing material reuse and recyclability. The winning technologies are of significant interest to automotive engineers, manufacturers, policymakers and consumers.

The Lenzing Group has been awarded platinum status in the EcoVadis CSR rating. The rating comprehensively covers the four most important practices in the area of corporate social responsibility: environment, fair working conditions and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement.

For the fourth time in a row, Lenzing has been awarded platinum status by EcoVadis. This puts Lenzing in the top one percent of companies rated by EcoVadis worldwide. Lenzing achieved the greatest progress this year in the categories of sustainable procurement and ethics. Lenzing also outperformed the previous year in the areas of labor and human rights as well as certifications. Since its foundation in 2007, EcoVadis has developed into on of the largest and most trusted providers of sustainability ratings for companies and has created a global network of more than 130,000 rated companies worldwide. The methodological framework evaluates companies' policies, measures and activities, as well as their published reports on the environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement.

In line with its "Naturally Positive" sustainability strategy, the Lenzing Group has set ambitious targets in each of its core strategic areas to further strengthen its transition from a linear to a circular economy model. Every year, Lenzing provides updates on its sustainability initiatives and the progress made in its annual sustainability report. This level of commitment and transparency was also positively emphasized by EcoVadis in its assessment.

Salvation Army charity shops have won two major awards from the Charity Retail Association for Outstanding Charity Retailer of the Year, and Environmental and Sustainability at the CRA Annual Conference held at the Harrogate Convention Centre on 26th June 2024.

This is the second time the charity has won the Outstanding Charity Retailer of the Year Award in the past four years - winning it outright in 2022 and 2024, and also being shortlisted in 2021 and 2023.

The Environmental and Sustainability Award sets out specific criteria that organisations must demonstrate, including the introduction of green policies, and new ways of dealing with textile recycling.

Both award categories focused on retail initiatives and key achievements over the previous 12 months. SATCoL recently announced its highest trading results and a record-breaking donation to its parent charity of over £11.2m.

In 2022 SATCoL launched its 5-Year Strategic Plan under the theme of ‘Dare to CARE’ – this included new performance measures for People, Planet and Profit. CARE represents SATCoL's values of Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Equality. The company continues to invest in its donation centres and refurbishing more high street shops – 10 new donation centres opened and 9 high street shops were refurbished in the year 2022-23.

SATCoL has also invested heavily in innovations including FibersortTM, an automatic sorting process that identifies and sorts second-hand garments by fibre type, and Project Re:claimTM, a commercial-scale polyester recycling plant designed to recycle end-of-life textiles. Project Re:claim is a joint venture with Project Plan B.

The Sustainability Report 2023, which is now digitally available, provides insights into the past financial year and summarizes the main ecological, economic and social developments. Sustainability is an integral part of the corporate strategy of the CHT Group.

• The CHT Group uses the terms PEOPLE, PLANET and PERFORMANCE to emphasize its commitment to the 3 dimensions of sustainability worldwide and sets itself further goals. The CHT Group consistently aligns its sustainability strategy with all three ESG dimensions
• Responsibility for sustainability lies with the Chief Sustainability Officer
• Climate protection plays a central role worldwide - the corporate carbon footprint (Scope 1-3) 2023 adds up to 456 kt CO2(e)
• The Group is pursuing the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2045
• At the end of 2021, the CHT Group signed up to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and committed to the 1.5 °C target
• SBTi has validated the CHT Group's reduction targets - by 2030, Scope 1+2 emissions will be reduced by - 42 % and Scope 3 emissions by - 25 %. 82 % of sales were achieved with sustainably classified products
• In 2024 EcoVadis awards the CHT Group's sustainability management with the Gold level for the first time

At PRSE in Amsterdam, the DischargePro control system from EREMA's POWERFIL business unit was presented with the Plastics Recycling Award Europe in the "Recycling Machinery Innovation of the Year" category. The smart technology for the EREMA laser filter improves process stability over the entire operating period and reacts automatically to fluctuations during the recycling process.

The DischargePro system automatically compensates for fluctuations in the input material, thereby ensuring uniform thickening during melt filtration and thus a consistent process. Depending on the application and contamination, POWERFIL was able to reduce melt loss by up to 50 percent with the DischargePro compared to the previous EREMA laser filter control system. These facts convinced the jury, who described the technology as an intelligent technological advance in the extrusion process.

With the DischargePro control system, POWERFIL significantly increases the degree of automation in the filter process. The discharge control system reacts to specific disruptions in the process. In this way, the speed of the scraper star is adjusted at short notice and returns to the setpoint speed as soon as the contamination peak has been discharged. Furthermore, the control system also recognizes changes in throughput and adjusts the discharge rates accordingly. In the event of a higher pressure drop across the filter screen, which is caused by a higher viscosity of the melt, DischargePro adjusts the setpoint value to ensure a consistent discharge rate. Long-term changes, such as the condition of the filter screen, are also taken into account in all adjustments.

The EREMA Group, based in Ansfelden near Linz, Austria, closes the financial year 2023/24 with total revenues of EUR 380 million. A joint venture with the Lindner Group sees the group of companies expand its portfolio to include washing technology. EREMA Group GmbH now has eight subsidiaries: EREMA, PURE LOOP, PLASMAC, KEYCYCLE, Lindner Washtech, UMAC, plasticpreneur and 3S.

"With our machines and components, we have now reached a recycling volume of more than 25 million tonnes per year worldwide, which makes a significant contribution to the development of a circular economy for plastics," says Manfred Hackl, CEO of the EREMA Group. The group of companies manufactured 290 extruders for recycling plastic in the past financial year, supplemented by over 100 add-on components such as filter systems and ReFresher anti-odour technology. These recycling solutions generated total sales of EUR 380 million. Around 8,500 machines and components from the group are in operation in more than 100 countries. The EREMA Group employs 950 people worldwide.

Strategic investments in all areas of the plastics recycling industry
In recent years, the EREMA Group has invested in developing specific machines, applications and infrastructure. "The opening of the new R&D Centre in Ansfelden last summer and the new machines in the Customer Technology Center at EREMA North America at the beginning of this year, have seen us complete the largest phase of investment in our history to date. We have invested more than EUR 110 million in the expansion and modernization of our international locations over the past five years," emphasizes Horst Wolfsgruber, CFO of the EREMA Group. Another important milestone is the founding in August 2023 of the holding company BLUEONE Solutions together with the Austrian family-owned company Lindner. Incorporating Lindner Washtech means that the EREMA Group's extensive portfolio now also includes washing technology.

Developments in post consumer and PET recycling
The new DuaFil® Compact technology, which EREMA developed specifically for challenging applications with high levels of contamination and moisture, is proving successful. Since the launch at K 2022, around 20 INTAREMA® TVEplus® DuaFil® Compact systems have been sold. In the post consumer segment, ReFresher technology for the production of odour-optimised recycled pellets is also gaining ground and is now in use worldwide with a total capacity of one million tonnes per year for film and regrind applications. Another interesting new component is the DischargePro control system for the EREMA laser filter, which has been nominated for this year's Plastics Recycling Awards Europe. The discharge control system responds automatically to fluctuations in flow rate during the recycling process and reduces melt loss by up to 50 percent. With its new Fast-Track scheme, EREMA is responding to the demand for machines available at short notice at an attractive price-performance ratio.

For bottle applications, VACUREMA® systems have been proving their performance for 25 years. Over 400 EREMA PET systems for food grade are in operation worldwide, notching up a total capacity of more than 4.5 million tonnes per year. PET recycling is also becoming increasingly important in the textile industry. FibrePro:IV technology was developed especially for fibre-to-fibre recycling, which is used together with machine combinations from EREMA or PURE LOOP, who specialise in shredder-extruder technology, depending on the geometry and contamination of the PET fibre waste. For these applications, the EREMA Group has set up a fibre technical centre at its headquarters in Ansfelden.

Big potential for plastics recycling
The amount of plastic produced worldwide is currently around 400 million tonnes per year - and the figure is still rising. Around 9 percent of it is recycled globally. This represents big potential for the EREMA Group, as Manfred Hackl emphasizes.

The Lenzing Group has created an innovative concept that contributes to the sustainable protection of our glaciers while inspiring collective action for sustainable practices and a circular economy in the nonwovens and textile value chain. The concept, which was artistically staged by the Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto, was presented on March 21, 2024, as part of the International Day of Forests celebrations at the Palais des Nations, the headquarters of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG).

The melting of glaciers is being severely impacted by global warming. Geotextiles are used to protect ice and snow. However, the nonwovens used for this are made of fossil-based fibers, which allow microplastics1 to enter the valley via streams and may enter the food chain through small organisms and animals. Nonwovens made from cellulosic LENZING™ fibers, which are biodegradable at the end of their life cycle and can be completely recycled, are the sustainable solution to this problem.

The covering of a small area with the new material made from LENZING™ fibers was tested for the first time during a field test on the Stubai Glacier. Four meters of ice were saved from melting. This was confirmed in a study conducted by the University of Innsbruck and the Austrian glacier lift operators on the Stubai Glacier in Tyrol (Austria). In 2023, the pilot project was successfully extended to all Austrian glaciers used by tourists.

Last year, the project was also awarded first place in the prestigious Swiss BIO TOP Awards for wood and material innovations.

Lenzing takes this innovation project as an opportunity to inspire collaborative action towards sustainable practices and circularity in the textile value chain. Together with a network of innovative partners, Lenzing is working on processing geotextiles into new textile fibers giving them a second life as a garment. The use of geotextiles is usually limited to two years, after which the nonwovens would be disposed of. In the first phase of the pilot project, the recycling of nonwovens made for geotextiles use has been successfully tested and a fashionable “Glacier Jacket” has been produced, showcasing that the recycling of geotextiles is viable. Next to Lenzing, the network includes Marchi & Fildi Spa, a specialist in the field of mechanical recycling, the denim fabric manufacturer Candiani Denim and the fashion studio Blue of a Kind.

Hologenix has announced that its flagship product CELLIANT® infrared (IR) technology, a natural blend of IR-generating bioceramic minerals, is now more widely available from the company as a printed coating, expanding the uses of the technology and increasing the number of prospective partners. The innovation has already been named a Selection in the Fibers & Insulations Category of the ISPO Textrends Awards just last month.

Traditionally, CELLIANT has been embedded directly into fibers and yarns. However, for its print applications, CELLIANT fine mineral powder can be easily added directly onto the surface of all different fabric types. The company is particularly energized about how this expands the array of sustainable offerings that CELLIANT can be incorporated into, and is looking forward to partnering with brands to print CELLIANT on their ecofriendly fabrics. CELLIANT Print may be a cost-effective alternative to in-yarn solutions and allows for a more efficient supply chain.

fabrics or to a new fabric to create a variety of different product applications. For brands who are seeking a smaller pattern roller for apparel, orthopedic products or other close-to-skin projects, CELLIANT Print can accommodate this. There is also a larger pattern roller for bedding and larger-scale applications. As long as the print covers 80% of the fabric’s surface, the design possibilities for the print itself are virtually endless. CELLIANT Print has undergone mechanical testing for wash tests and can be confirmed to last the useful life of the product, for 50+ washes.

By applying CELLIANT Print directly onto the fabric, brand partners are able to use CELLIANT with a higher loading of bioceramic minerals than what would otherwise be possible with an in-yarn solution. This makes it ideal for recovery and performance purposes. In fact, an example of a CELLIANT Print application on kinesiology tape, KT Tape® PRO Oxygen™ was launched in April to great success.

Carbios and L’Oréal have won the “Pioneer Awards” in the Industry category, presented by the Solar Impulse Foundation at the first World Alliance Summit. This prize was awarded to Carbios for its enzymatic PET recycling solution, labeled “Efficient Solution” by the Solar Impulse Foundation since 2019, and to L’Oréal for using this technology for the first time in a cosmetics bottle prototype. Carbios’ solution offers brands an alternative to petro-sourced plastic that helps them meet their sustainability commitments. This advancement paves the way for future applications in other sectors such as packaging, food and beverage, and textiles.

Carbios and L’Oréal: a long-term collaboration
Since 2017, Carbios and L’Oréal have been working together with a shared vision of accelerating the transition to a circular economy for plastic. In 2017, both companies created a Consortium to improve the recyclability and circularity of PET packaging.  Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo and Suntory Beverage & Food Europe joined this Consortium in 2019 to scale up Carbios’ innovation. The world’s first enzymatically recycled PET packaging was made in 2021 using Carbios’ biorecycling process. The world’s first PET biorecycling plant is scheduled to be commissioned in 2025. In parallel, Carbios is rolling out its technology internationally through licensing agreements.

The environmental benefits of biorecycling developed by Carbios
Recent life-cycle analyses^[1] show a 57% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared with the production of virgin plastic^[2], and for every tonne of recycled PET produced, 1.3 tonnes of petrol are avoided. Compared with conventional recycling, enzymatic recycling is 4 times more circular (calculated according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Material Circularity Indicator). Thanks to its highly selective enzyme, optimized for efficient PET degradation, Carbios’ depolymerization process can process all types of PET waste, including colored, multilayer or textile waste that cannot be recycled using current technologies. Furthermore, the two monomers produced (PTA and MEG) make it possible to recreate recycled PET products of identical quality to virgin ones, and suitable for food contact.
 
 
^[1] Database ecoinvent 3.8
^[2] French scenario, taking into account the detour of 50% of PET waste from conventional end-of-life. Virgin PET: 2.53 kg CO₂/kg (cradle to gate)