Circular economy means taking a regenerative approach to resource usage, in order to meet the needs of all 8 billion people on the planet. The Ellen Mac Arthur Foundation’s butterfly diagram reminds us that adopting a circular approach to biological materials is relatively easy, thanks to the example of Nature, which over millions of years has developed organisms and processes that regenerate waste and replenish natural capital. Conversely, applying the circular economy approach to man-made “technical” materials seems significantly more complex, especially since the rise of steel and petrochemical industries during the Second Industrial Revolution.
In the chemicals sector, plastic is emblematic of the problem generated by industrial and consumer development in the 20th century: an extraordinary material, used pervasively in economic development, with a very significant impact on the environment. To ensure its correct management, adequate strategies are needed, which can be sorted into six progressive circular logics. First, reducing the use of plastics to the areas where it is actually needed, that is, impossible to replace by more natural circular materials both performance-wise and economically.
Second, optimising the durability of products containing plastic. Third, when a product can’t be used anymore, encourage its repurpose. Fourth, if part of the product is compromised and repurposing cannot be guaranteed, resort to partial replacement and remanufacturing. Recycling only comes into play as a fifth option, as it is an important alternative, but still suboptimal in terms of circularity. The last option to avoid landfilling (on land or at sea) is energy production, which is very common for heterogeneous plastics. Italy has some examples of recycling this low-value-added secondary material – such as Revet, which produces components for Piaggio – but these are all relatively isolated experiences. The strategies described above can be applied to any chemical product, aiding in the determination of companies' strategic choices and business models.
Adopting a circularity perspective means starting from the choice of raw materials, which in chemistry mainly means choosing between green chemistry – which uses plant-based raw materials – and traditional chemistry, which starts from oil, using the most valuable components of the refining process. One champion of green chemistry in Italy, Novamont, has been following this approach for many years, but recently, many other companies have converted their infrastructure to process raw materials of organic origin. A lot of technological innovation is required to introduce circular solutions in production, but also in all other phases of the life cycle, including recycling. A significant example in this regard is Itelyum, which, after having achieved high levels of circularity in industrial oils, has developed advanced technologies for solvent recovery. Moreover, it is now devoting itself to the chemical recycling of plastics, which allows for the full closure of the PET cycle.
Novamont and Itelyum are two of the 550+ companies participating in the UN Global Compact Network Italia. To them, and even beyond the scope of the UN initiative, we issue a strong call for an increasingly ambitious commitment to integrating the circular approach into business strategies, regardless of the industry they belong to. In a scenario of resource scarcity, the circular production model is essential to ensure the sustainability of markets and the effective protection of natural ecosystems. Additionally, circular companies can present themselves as drivers of innovation, search for new raw materials, and continuous improvement.
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