Political will and collaboration needed to redesign plastics system

Nobody is more aware of society’s complicated relationship with plastic than our industry.

Europe’s plastics manufacturers share societal concerns about the plastics system’s contribution to climate change and the challenge of plastics waste, and the need to foster the sustainable use of plastics. However, and while this may not be popular, we know that plastics remain irreplaceable for many applications, and we understand how important they are to enabling the sustainability of transitions and supporting the competitiveness of many sectors in Europe.

Our vision is to create a sustainable plastics system that continues to meet consumer and societal demands, while at the same time supporting the transitions of many downstream industries and supporting the competitiveness of the European economy. The ‘Plastics Transition’ roadmap sets out how this vision can be realized by making plastics circular, driving lifecycle emissions to net zero, and fostering the sustainable use of plastics.

Ambitious and realistic pathway to net-zero emissions and circularity

The ‘Plastics Transition’ roadmap is a milestone for our industry. For the first time, we are united around a hugely-ambitious but realistic plan to redesign the European plastics system. This reflects a profound cultural shift that has taken place in our industry.

The roadmap builds on the independent ReShaping Plastics report, published in 2022, and establishes a pathway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the overall plastics system by 28 percent by 2030, and towards net zero by 2050. It predicts the gradual substitution of fossil-based plastics, and that circular plastics (in all applications) could meet 25 percent of European demand in 2030, and 65 percent by 2050. With a less conservative approach to defining circularity, which includes reuse, the 2050 number would be 71 percent. Sustainable use of plastics is also addressed, which means producing and using plastic applications in a way that is safe for human health and the environment.

First and foremost, the roadmap identifies milestones and actions for plastics manufacturers, including partnering with waste management companies to secure circular feedstock, shifting to more circular practices through recycling and better design, and developing plastics from biomass and captured carbon. We have a ‘north star’ that will guide, incentivize and accelerate our actions for years to come.

Urgent need for enabling policy and regulatory framework

We are under no illusions about the scale, complexity and cost of this transition. According to Deloitte, cumulated additional investments and operational costs by 2050 are projected to be at least €235 billion. To help overcome these challenges, we urgently need a harmonized and enforceable European policy and regulatory framework that stimulates circular markets and industry investments, rather than hinders the industry’s transition.

While production caps and arbitrary bans of plastic polymers are seen by some as a simple solution, in practice they are not the answer. Instead, they ramp up business uncertainty and undermine the case for making the necessary investments. Instead, we should be focusing on developing a fit-for-purpose waste management system to ensure availability of plastics waste for recycling. This means phasing out incineration and landfilling of recyclable plastics, and enhancing separate collection. There’s no point redesigning plastics to be recyclable if policy continues to facilitate incineration.

Recycled content targets for key plastics applications, including for the automotive, building and construction, and medical sectors, must be introduced to create a market pull for circular plastics. As the end consumer of a significant portion of plastics in Europe, governments should also mandate these thresholds in public procurement guidelines.

We also need to unlock industry investments in chemical recycling through the EU giving the green light to this key technology. Without it, we will not be able to create enough high-quality recycled plastic to meet the needs of European businesses and reach EU circularity targets.

The international competitiveness of the European plastics industry is a critical issue that can no longer be ignored.

Europe’s share of global plastics production has fallen from 28 percent in 2002 to 14 percent in 2022, with North America and China accounting for 17 percent and 32 percent respectively, and the gap continues to grow. Without measures to safeguard our competitiveness, we will not be able to make the necessary investments in circularity and net-zero production, and Europe will becoming increasingly dependent on imports of new and recycled plastics which do not necessarily meet EU sustainability standards.

The policy decisions taken in the next few years will determine whether and how quickly we can fulfil the ambitions set out in our roadmap and the Green Deal. We want to work with policymakers to ensure that Europe leads the way in developing a circular and net-zero plastics system, but that is not a given. The window of opportunity to make the necessary decisions is rapidly closing.

Deepening collaboration with our value chain

The red thread that runs through the roadmap is the need for deeper and more effective collaboration across the wider plastics system. It is too big, complex, and interconnected for any part of it to successfully deliver a circular and net-zero system alone.

For example, to redesign a plastic for a product to make it recyclable, perhaps by simplifying its composition, requires value chain effort and collaboration towards the same improvement goals while keeping the same product functionalities.

This is why working in a more intense and coordinated way with converters, recyclers, waste management companies in the automotive, building and construction medical and other value chains is so important. To promote this deeper collaboration, we are calling on the European Commission to urgently initiate a Clean Transition Dialogue for plastics, which looks at the enablers, investments and roadblocks to reaching a circular and net-zero plastics system in Europe. 

The roadmap is a dynamic process, which means it will be progressively updated based on new insights and changes to our industry environment, the policy framework and value chain input. It should be viewed as an invitation to our value chain and policymakers to challenge our thinking and identify areas where we can join forces and progress faster.

To be successful, timely action, intensified collaboration and explicit political will are needed.