LyondellBasell scales back recycling target

Netherlands- and Houston-based LyondellBasell has announced updates to its 2030 climate and circularity goals, including a 60 percent reduction in the volume of recycled-plastic content it intends to produce annually by 2030.

In previous sustainability-related reports and statements, the global chemicals and polymers company has published a goal of producing and marketing 2 million metric tons per year of recycled-content polymers.

Now, the company says its circularity goal is to produce and market 800,000 metric tons of recycled and renewable-based polymers annually by 2030.

LyondellBasell says it now intends to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 32 percent by 2030, which compares with an earlier goal of a 42 percent reduction.

The company says it is faced with a “need for disciplined capital allocation” in the midst of evolving market conditions and regulatory developments, adding that its goals “remain ambitious, while balancing the need to adjust for near-term achievability.”

“Over the past several years, we have made measurable progress and gained a deeper understanding of factors that enable us to deliver value from circular and low-carbon solutions, including the pace of policy adoption and implementation, market demand and technology readiness,” says LyondellBasell CEO Peter Vanacker.

“At the same time, maintaining capital discipline is essential in the current economic environment,” continues the executive. “We will continue to create value for our stakeholders through being a leader in sustainability in the chemical industry and executing our strategy. These updates to our goals ensure we remain focused on advancing sustainability as a key value driver of our business at a pace aligned with market conditions and the regulatory environment.”

The polymers company says it is continuing with construction of the MoReTec-1 plant in Germany, which it calls the first commercial-scale catalytic chemical recycling plant using its MoReTec technology.

LyondellBasell also says the updated goals will not impact existing supply commitments or commercial contracts.