With the ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) PLUS certification of its production site in Baytown, Texas, USA, polymer materials company Covestro has significantly expanded the reach of its product portfolio for the circular economy.
According to the company, the Baytown site is its largest operating facility in North and South America and its third-largest production site worldwide. This most recent achievement is significant, with all of Covestro's major sites now certified by the internationally recognized ISCC PLUS standard. In addition to Baytown, certified sites include Leverkusen, Dormagen, and Krefeld-Uerdingen (Germany); Shanghai (China); Changhua (Taiwan); Map Ta Phut (Thailand); Antwerp (Belgium); and Filago (Italy).
“Thanks to this new milestone, Covestro will soon be able to serve even more customers around the world with an easily accessible, more sustainable product portfolio,” says Sucheta Govil, chief commercial officer. “Customers in North America can now reduce their carbon footprint and Scope 3 emissions with drop-in, mass-balanced materials derived from recycled and bio-attributed products.”
Covestro describes itself as the first manufacturer of polyurethane and polycarbonate raw materials to receive this certification in the United States. The certification is an important milestone for both Covestro and the industries it serves, including the automotive, construction, comfort, electronics, and appliance industries, which will now have access to ISCC PLUS-certified products made from sustainable raw materials in North America.
To underscore how the products support both the company’s vision to become fully circular and its customers’ journey to greater sustainability, Covestro says it is introducing a specially branded product line with the suffix “CQ.” CQ, which stands for circular intelligence, is a portfolio of products with attribution of at least 25% alternative raw materials derived from biomass or recycled plastics.
Covestro is also introducing the name Evocycle CQ for its evolutionary recycling processes. The first project of this kind, currently focused in Europe, is called Evocycle CQ Mattress, and it denotes an innovative chemical recycling technology for polyurethane mattress foam. The company currently has hundreds of CQ products and is continuously expanding this portfolio.
The ISCC PLUS certified products produced at Covestro’s Baytown facilities will include:
- Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), which is used primarily in the production of rigid polyurethane foam for efficient insulation of refrigeration equipment and buildings;
- Toluene diisocyanate (TDI), used in the production of flexible foam for the automotive and furniture industries;
- Makrolon RE polycarbonate, a high-grade plastic used in the automotive, electronics, and medical industries, among others; and
- Hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), Desmodur W, and Desmodur Z, which are used in various coatings and adhesive applications.
Covestro says it expects to begin supplying select ISCC PLUS-certified products from its Baytown facility in the second half of 2023.
According to the company, these products will be produced using a mass-balance approach. Sustainable raw materials will be accounted for throughout both the value chain and production process, allowing for an accurate attribution to the end products. Existing production infrastructure will be utilized while reducing the carbon footprint of final products.
ISCC is an internationally recognized sustainability certification for biomass and bioenergy. The standard applies to all stages of the value chain and is recognized worldwide.
Source: Covestro, www.covestro.us.