Towards greener polymers: Trends in the German chemical industry

Global plastics production is expected to exceed 400 million tons and reach 600 million tons by 2060. Their synthesis currently accounts for approximately 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Approximately 60% of all polymers are produced for single-use. Examples include shopping bags, packaging materials, mulch films, and soluble polymers for cosmetics and other purposes. Currently, only a portion of single-use plastic is recycled or disposed of in incinerators or landfills. An estimated 20% is not disposed of properly and pollutes the global environment, especially the oceans. In response to these challenges, the United Nations, European Union, and many nation-states are developing regulatory frameworks that encourage the chemical industry to produce plastics with a smaller environmental footprint and often support this through research funding. Possible solutions include: (1) the use of green energy, green hydrogen, bio-based feedstocks, or CO₂ in synthesis; (2) the reuse or recycling of plastics through conversion or pyrolysis; and (3) the production of biodegradable polymers. The German chemical industry contributes approximately one-third of polymer production in the EU. It is embedded in the EU regulatory and research landscape and anchored in the European Green Deal, which aims for carbon neutrality by 2050. In this paper, we describe how BASF and Evonik, two leading German chemical companies with strong but different polymer portfolios, respond to the call for greener polymers and how technologies are being developed to make polyurethanes, a particularly important and difficult-to-recycle family of elastomers and duromers, renewable and circular. Reducing the environmental footprint of plastics requires not only innovative materials but also proper governance, regulatory and collection systems, and public willingness to cooperate. In an international comparison of these competencies, expressed by the "polymer management index" (PMI), Germany achieved a top position.