Covestro’s Newark, Ohio, polycarbonate compounding facility has achieved International Sustainability and Carbon Certification Plus certification, increasing availability of the company’s mass balanced polycarbonate products in the United States.
This achievement comes on the heels of the certification of Covestro’s Baytown, Texas, facility earlier this year and marks a major step forward in the path toward circularity for polycarbonates in the United States.
“This ISCC PLUS accreditation is an important milestone that offers added value to our customers and key industries,” said Samir Hifri, chairman and president of Covestro LLC, with North American headquarters in Pittsburgh. “Covestro’s polycarbonate production in the U.S. is now more sustainable — from sourcing and production in Baytown to compounding the polycarbonate in Newark. Our Makrolon RE series is a preferred option for customers looking for solutions to reach climate goals.”
Makrolon polycarbonate, which is compounded at Covestro’s Newark facility, is a high-grade plastic used in the automotive, electronics and healthcare industries, among others. With its ISCC Plus certification, the site will now be able to manufacture Makrolon RE grades, which are renewable attributed products.
RE grades are produced using existing infrastructure. They can contain up to 89% attributed bio-circular raw materials and have the same physical characteristics of conventional Makrolon polycarbonate. Makrolon RE grades are part of Covestro’s broader circular intelligence portfolio of products, and the ISCC Plus certification expands the company’s circular offerings available in the United States.
Covestro’s Newark, Ohio, site is the company’s premier polycarbonate compounding facility in North America and one of six Color Competence and Design Centers globally. The facility, which has about 150 employees, produces polycarbonate and polycarbonate blends and offers technical expertise in color matching and design.
“Our team in Newark understands the ambitious circularity targets set by Covestro globally,” said Rich Rogers, Newark site manager. “Our employees recognize that we have a key role to play in making our products and production more sustainable. We are excited to contribute to the efforts in advancing Covestro’s circularity journey.”
ISCC PLUS-certified polycarbonates from Covestro’s Newark facility will be produced using a mass-balance approach in the existing production infrastructure, ultimately reducing the carbon footprint of the final product, company officials said. Covestro could begin supplying select ISCC Plus-certified products from its Newark facility in 2024.
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.
