The people’s vote of confidence in sustainability schemes
For the first time, sustainability certification of a food commodity will be explicitly written into a trade agreement. The Swiss people recently voted in a referendum to remove tariffs on Indonesian... read more
The squabble over waste-based biofuels contains a lesson for the Circular Economy
We have to decarbonise all forms of transport to reach net zero, but what happens when there aren’t enough low carbon fuels to go round? The EU’s upcoming ReFuelEU proposal to bring in a b... read more
Sustainable aluminium: new kid on the blockchain
Both Hydro and Rio Tinto announced recently that they are launching blockchain initiatives. Hydro’s customers will be able to ‘trace the metal from the factory gates until it reaches the c... read more
A golden opportunity for green aluminium, but who is benefitting?
Green aluminium has, for the first time, received a premium over standard prices in Europe according to a number of sources. But the term ‘green aluminium’ covers different types of alumin... read more
Carbon Capture and Storage - our only hope of saving the climate?
By Madeleine Woods
The third in a series of articles titled 'the voice of young people', from the opinion formers of the future.
On 11th January 2021 HRH The Prince of Wales announced a Sustai... read more
Circular tyres and other developments in chemical recycling
2020 was an important year for technologies that break down waste plastic into small chemical building blocks ready for recycling to new plastics. The industry ramped up its investment in these... read more
What is the role of the car in the transition to sustainable transport?
By Finn Pierau
The third in a series of articles titled 'the voice of young people', from the opinion formers of the future.
On November 19th, 2020 PM Boris Johnson announced the U... read more
To drop-in or not to drop-in, that is the bioplastics question for 2020
Companies have announced commercial developments for bioplastics in 2020 involving both bio-based versions of conventional plastics (drop-in) and new biopolymers. The year has also brought some offici... read more
Bioenergy Sustainability Schemes prepare for change
Biofuels and biomass Sustainability Schemes must be re-approved by June 2021 to show that they are in compliance with the new Renewable Energy Directive (RED II). The process is already underway and S... read more
Aluminium should be at the forefront of carbon disclosure
The push for low carbon aluminium to be traded as a separate category on the London Metals Exchange, took a new turn recently as two producers came out in opposition to the idea. This is of wider rele... read more
Do recycled carbon fuels have a future?
From the middle of 2021, when the new Renewable Energy Directive comes into force, countries in Europe will be able to count recycled carbon fuels towards their targets for renewable transport fuels.... read more
How can the biofuels and bio-based chemicals industries spread social equality?
By Zoe Greindl
The second in a series of articles titled 'the voice of young people', from the opinion formers of the future.
In July 2020, leaders of the European Commission annou... read more
Sustainable plastic doesn't need to be a taxing matter
By Naomi Williams
The first in a series of articles titled 'the voice of young people', from the opinion formers of the future.
The EU has announced a new tax targeting plastic pac... read more
Is segregation coming to sustainable palm oil?
Sustainability schemes for commodities used by food, chemicals and biofuels producers have not brought the promised reductions in deforestation of tropical countries. So companies and regulators are l... read more
Recycling aluminium should not be left to recyclers
Everyone agrees that recycling aluminium is worthwhile and necessary. Aluminium can recycled again and again without loss of quality, which fits well with the requirements of a circular economy.... read more
How low is low carbon aluminium?
The London Metals Exchange, the world centre for industrial metals trading, said recently that they will launch a platform for trading low carbon primary aluminium made from renewable energy. This wil... read more
Sustainability schemes for aviation biofuels
The aviation industry is continuing with its efforts to become more sustainable even as it tries to adjust to a massive drop in demand caused by the pandemic. With the climate impact of flying well en... read more
Compostable packaging breaks new ground
Bioplastics have largely been written out of European Commission thinking on single use plastics and they are treated the same as conventional polymers in regulation. The waste management industry com... read more
ASI and coal-powered aluminium
The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative has announced a review of its system. A lot has changed since the launch of the sustainability scheme at the end of 2017, so now is the time to re-examine the Stan... read more
Gas to clean hydrogen technology could pay dividends
During the current lockdown, people living in the world’s big cities are seeing first hand how clean the air would be if they could all switch to non-polluting transport. Just as the diesel emis... read more
Cracking the low carbon code for chemicals
The importance of petrochemicals to healthcare services is being brought home to the public in daily news bulletins about shortages of testing reagents and hand sanitiser during the pandemic. Pl... read more
The expert view on sustainable plastics
At last there is an official view emerging on how plastics can contribute to a low carbon or net zero economy. It has come from a group of experts who are advising the European Commission on the rules... read more
It matters where end-of-life aluminium ends up
Everyone agrees that recycling aluminium alloys is worthwhile and necessary. Not only because it saves the huge energy expenditure necessary to produce new, primary metal, but also because alumi... read more
Bioplastics: new approaches and new certifications
The trend for sustainability certification of bioplastics picked up noticeably in 2019 and there is every indication that it will continue in 2020. And it is not just the traditional Schemes that are... read more
Has aluminium multilayer packaging passed its sell-by-date?
Single use plastic, the brands that use it and the companies that make it, all came in for a lot of criticism at the World Economic Forum. Whether it was the outrage caused by Coca Cola saying t... read more
The Green Deal and the bioeconomy
The Green Deal, the Commission’s proposal for the measures needed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, was recently published. European Bioplastics has endorsed the Green Deal and claimed... read more
The plastic of the future
We can’t do without plastic, but it must be produced and managed in a sustainable way. Champions from the bioplastics and recycling industries are pushing their own solution as the best an... read more
Packaging: new solutions promote better behaviours
Consumers are demanding products with less packaging, but our habits and actions need to change to really impact on the amount of packaging used overall. The latest initiatives encourage us to invest... read more
Biofuels: when 'used' is more valuable than 'new'
Biodiesel made from used cooking oil is worth more in the market than that produced from virgin palm oil due to the structure of the European incentive scheme for sustainable biofuels. There is theref... read more
Aluminium should share climate impacts down the supply chain
The carbon intensity of aluminium traded on the LME (London Metals Exchange) should be disclosed as part of the fight against climate change according to EN+, owner of Rusal. The production of alumini... read more
Plastics recycling is not the holy grail
Chemical recycling of waste plastic has been the subject of two recent announcements. Dow is partnering with Fuenix to produce chemically recycled plastic in the Netherlands. Zerowaste Europe has said... read more
How to stop imported deforestation
Even before the terrible fires in the Amazon pushed deforestation into the news, Europe was already evaluating how it could act to preserve the world’s primary forests. The importation of palm o... read more
First off the bloc to display the ASI logo
Public awareness of sustainability schemes is key to their success and the ASI (Aluminium Stewardship Initiative) is no exception. SIG Combibloc, a leading provider of multilayer aseptic packaging con... read more
Palm oil; the kernel of the dispute
Palm oil is causing a disagreement between the EU and producer countries in SE Asia. The European Commission has developed a scientifically based approach to limit palm oil in biofuels to that which d... read more
Home composting of packaging is bananas
Supermarkets and consumer brands are looking for new packaging ideas as we all worry about the fate of the plastic that protects our food. Waitrose, a UK supermarket, recently announced the introducti... read more
The winner takes it Al
The first company to produce and sell sustainably certified primary aluminium, Rio Tinto, has just won ‘Metals Company of the Year’ in S&P Global Platts’, Global Meta... read more
Sustainability is coming into fashion for bioplastics and fibres
Europe is increasingly focusing on the sustainability of the biomass going into renewable materials and how these products can be recycled. This is particularly evident for single use items and it is... read more
The new standard for recycled plastic
The chemical recycling technology from PureCycle and P&G has recently received a vote of confidence, as Nestlé becomes a partner for the commercialisation of their recycled polypropylene. T... read more
Aluminium cans hit the right note
Glastonbury music festival in the UK announced recently that the sale of drinks in plastic bottles will be banned this year. They are to be replaced by cans. This decision was taken at the request of... read more
Certification of low ILUC-risk palm oil
As the European Commission prepares to set criteria to define both high and low ILUC (indirect land-use change) risk biofuels by the end of the month, the debate on palm oil as a driver of deforestati... read more
The Guardian newspaper changes to biodegradable packaging
Potato fries* used to be wrapped in newspaper; now the Guardian is doing the opposite and wrapping its newspaper in a material made from potatoes. It is responding to customers who are concerned about... read more
Really George, it's ASI certified coffee capsules
The very first sustainably certified aluminium products will soon be on the market. Nespresso and Rio Tinto, are collaborating to provide a complete supply chain for coffee capsules made from aluminiu... read more
The best packaging materials for the circular economy
Single use packaging and how to recycle it has been in the news since the beginning of 2018, when China stopped accepting much of our waste. Recently the media have been dominated by images of marine... read more
Soft cap, low ILUC risk, recycled carbon: the new biofuel buzzwords
The need to decarbonise transport after the recent dire warning from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on the acceleration of climate change, has provided a new impetus to the discussio... read more
The price of plastic
During the heat wave, as we picnicked on the beach, eating with disposable plastic cutlery and drinking from plastic bottles, the discussion about increasing our appetite for recycling plastic continu... read more
Transport fuel from municipal waste moves into the fast lane
Recent announcements show how industry is gearing up to turn our waste into liquid fuel. We know that an economically attractive use must be found for waste that is not currently recycled, to prevent... read more
Chain of Custody certification is 25 years old
If a performance standard is at the heart of a sustainability scheme then the chain of custody standard is the circulatory system which brings the sustainable supply chain to life. Twenty-five years a... read more
Marine litter proposals: the takeaway
In Europe we leave too many of our plastic food containers, drinks bottles and straws on the beach. They pollute the sea, break down into damaging micro-plastics and harm marine life. The EU has acted... read more
The price of everything and the value of nothing*: Is it cynical to attack sustainability schemes?
Leading commodity sustainability schemes have come under attack recently from NGOs. They risk playing into the hands of those who want goods to be traded solely on the basis of price, with no value gi... read more
Deforestation: seeing the wood for the trees
Protecting the world’s forests is back under the spotlight again. Greenpeace has announced that they will be dropping their membership of FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), which is bad news for... read more
Five years of environmental progress for European primary aluminium
The European Aluminium Association has published its five yearly assessment of the environmental performance of the aluminium industry. The progress made in Europe is not matched by imported aluminium... read more
Biofuels Sustainability Schemes update
After eight years of sustainability certification, ISCC, the market leading EU approved Voluntary Scheme, dominates certification of biofuels refineries, traders, and storage. ISCC has not recognised... read more
Going Dutch on waste
It is ironic that a week after Europe’s first commercial scale municipal waste to chemicals and biofuels plant was announced, the EU decides on ambitious targets to recycle waste plastics, texti... read more
EU Plastics Strategy unwrapped
It is exactly sixty years since the toy hula-hoop, the first mass market application for modern polyethylene, helped to ignite the demand for plastics made from oil. It was affordable, accessible and... read more
Melanie Williams announced as ASI Registered Specialist
The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) has published a list of Registered Specialists to coincide with the launch of its certification scheme for sustainable aluminium production. ASI indicates, &... read more
Sustainable aluminium finishes 2017 on a high
A fourth primary aluminium producer announced low carbon products at the end of 2017. Norsk Hydro launched Hydro 4.0 primary aluminium with guaranteed maximum carbon emissions of 4.0kg CO2 per kg of a... read more
Circular Economy: a Christmas present for bioplastics or a bit of a turkey?
2017 has been the year when the momentum for measures to make plastic production more circular seems unstoppable. The UN recently passed a resolution to stop plastic waste entering the oceans and Euro... read more
Sustainability Schemes should work together
The RTRS (Roundtable on Responsible Soy) EU sustainability scheme for soy oil derived biofuels has been re-approved, which is good news. However there was a period of over a year when the approv... read more
Recycled plastic: a fairy tale that needs to come true
Once upon a time plastic was a miracle packaging material; strong, light, cheap and with good barrier properties. Last month, as more photos of waste plastic polluting the ocean were circulating on so... read more
A better future for biofuels without palm oil?
Palm oil’s days as a source of biodiesel in Europe appear to be numbered. The ENVI committee of the European Parliament voted recently to ban palm oil for biodiesel from 2021. Political opinion... read more
Natural cosmetics come in sweet packages
Bioplastics received another boost recently as Buhbli Organics chose Braskem plastic, made from sugarcane, as the package for its Himalayan Bath Salts. The product will be available in over a 1000 Wal... read more
Will aviation biofuel take-off in the UK?
The UK government recently published its new biofuels policy. Four days later British Airways announced a partnership with Velocys to produce aviation biofuel from household waste in the UK. The... read more
Low carbon aluminium gets motoring
The recent declarations on the end of new petrol and diesel cars from the French and the UK governments heralds the era of the electric car. The date has been set for 2040, which means that carmaker... read more
Sustainability schemes: better safe than sorry
The recognition of some Voluntary Sustainability Schemes for verifying compliance of biofuels with the Renewable Energy Directive is due to expire this summer. The lesson from the Schemes which were i... read more
Decarbonising liquid fuels and chemicals
In its Statistical Review of World Energy, published recently, BP describes how almost 40% of the growth in global power generation in 2016 has come from renewables. Denmark leads, with 59% of power c... read more
Sustainable aluminium: What else?
This Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) has now started to pilot its assurance platform ahead of launching the certification scheme.
The founder members of ASI first set out their aspirations in... read more
Banking on deforestation-free palm oil
The Bank of England’s dilemma about the feedstock for the oleochemical used in the production of its new £5 plastic notes highlights a paradox implicit in the circular economy ideal. Waste... read more
Biomethanol v bioethanol for 2nd generation biofuels
“The person who says something is impossible should not interrupt the person who is doing it”
A recently published study on growing methanol use in China highlights the truth of this Chin... read more
Biofuels post 2020 - latest views from the coalface
The annual ISCC meeting in Brussels is turning into a go-to event for players in the bioeconomy. This year the theme was ‘Implementation of the Paris COP 21 Agreement – Decarbonization and... read more
Waste packaging –a sea change for bioplastic?
The European Union and public opinion are set to change radically the plastics industry, by requiring waste plastic collection and recycling. But will this be good or bad for the emerging biopla... read more
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Aluminium: recycled, recyclable, renewable, sustainable
The past two years has seen a flurry of announcements of new brands associated with different types of recycled and ‘renewable’ primary aluminium. Added to this, the ASI (Aluminium Steward... read more
Should the ASI allow a market credits system?
The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative will launch a sustainability scheme in 2017. The aim is to get sustainable aluminium into the market place as soon as possible after this. A market credits s... read more
Biobased% - a new certification for bioplastics
The total bio-based content of bioplastics and other renewable materials can now be certified, providing a key differentiator in the market. The new certification encompasses all the elements derived... read more
Renewable Energy Directive post 2020: will it help advanced biofuels?
The proposed new RED continues the re-orientation of biofuels strategy towards advanced biofuels made from waste and away from crop derived biofuels. But how much will the new RED, as currently worded... read more
Sustainable Aluminium moves closer to the market
The ASI (Aluminium Stewardship Initiative) has just published its most practical Chain of Custody Standard yet.
Aluminium has an excellent future in the Circular Economy, as it is infinitely re... read more
EU Biofuels Sustainability Schemes expire
Recognition of the first seven Voluntary Sustainability Schemes for verifying compliance with the Renewable Energy Directive had to be renewed by the 9th August this year to avoid expiry.
Three of th... read more
Who will make drop-in bioplastics in Europe?
Neste and IKEA recently announced a partnership to ‘deliver renewable, bio-based plastics’, which must be taken very seriously, as they are world leaders in biofuels and consumer goods res... read more
Which are the most sustainable biofuels?
Advanced biofuels are in the news as the EU considers the role of biofuels in transport post 2020. The Commission recently published ‘A European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility’ 1, whic... read more
Tracing aluminium through the supply chain
A number of companies sourcing commodities, including aluminium, are implementing sustainable purchasing practices, partially as a response to customers and international brands who want to be su... read more
Biofuels Sustainability Schemes: reassessment time
Sustainability Schemes were first approved five years ago and they are now being reassessed for the next five years. What will happen to sustainability certification into the future?
In August 2011,... read more
Building recognition for sustainable aluminium
Some producers are making big efforts to reduce the environmental impact and carbon footprint of their primary aluminium. The lightweighting and infinite recyclability of aluminium, which are key to i... read more
Putting in the energy to recycle carbon dioxide
It’s holiday time. Exactly twenty-seven years ago, colleagues and I filed a patent , covering the production of formic acid from carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Formic acid is principally used as a... read more
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