High prices for energy and raw materials, the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the challenges of a “green conversion” in ongoing operations – all these issues currently weigh heavily on companies in the plastics industry. Very recently, the German chemical industry association VCI (Frankfurt; www.vci.de) reported on falling production figures and plant shutdowns. On top of this, the EU’s regulatory frenzy, a restrictive chemicals policy, increasing bureaucracy and extremely slow approval processes are weakening Germany’s competitiveness as an industrial location.

The mood in the US is quite different. The national plastics association there expects significant growth this year and next. There are reasons for this optimism: companies have secure access to cheap energy and raw materials in the US. And there is also the Inflation Reduction Act – a multi-billion-dollar subsidy law of the Biden administration that is designed to attract climate-friendly businesses.

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So far, the German plastics industry has been able to hold its own against the global competition through strong innovation. Energy efficiency has been increased and a lot of money has gone into developing sustainable solutions. It has long been clear to everyone involved: the transformation to a climate-neutral circular economy is critical for the achievement of climate protection goals and for a secure supply of raw materials.

Next year, the German government plans to present its cross-sectoral national circular economy strategy. The German association has moderated a discussion process in which leading scientists and experts have identified necessary strategic decisions, key technologies, and crucial changes for the path of the plastics industry. These are described and summarised in the paper, Circular EconomyPLUS.

A key finding: only the eco-efficient combination of carbon capture and utilisation (CCU), biomass utilisation, and recycling that is open to technological solutions will decouple the industry from the use of fossil resources and make it possible to close the carbon cycle. If renewable energy is used, even net-zero greenhouse gas emissions are achievable for plastics.

However, if we want to maintain the competitiveness of the European plastics industry and support the climate goals of the Green Deal at the same time, it would also mean that we need investment-friendly conditions for climate-neutral transformation – and we need them now! What we do not need, conversely, are bans, bureaucratic brakes and additional levies. Germany and Europe are facing a decisive year in 2023: do we want to be pioneers for the transformation of the industry to a climate-neutral circular economy, or do we want to leave this change – and with it the growth potential – to other countries on other continents?

Ingemar Bühler

Managing director of the German-based plastics producers’ association Plastics Europe Deutschland (Frankfurt; www.plasticseurope.org)