DOMO CHEMICALS
“Significant strides” toward sustainability goals / ISCC Plus certification for three sites
By Dede Williams
Polyamide specialist Domo Chemicals (Leuna, Germany; www.domochemicals.com) has made “significant strides” toward reaching the goals set three years ago in its “benchmark for sustainable development and social responsibility” strategy, the company says in its sustainability report for 2023.
Polyamide specialist Domo Chemicals (Leuna, Germany; www.domochemicals.com) has made “significant strides” toward reaching the goals set three years ago in its “benchmark for sustainable development and social responsibility” strategy, the company says in its sustainability report for 2023.
 According to the company’s 2023 sustainability report, Domo is on the right track (Photo: Domo Chemicals) |
Among 2023 milestones, Domo obtained International Sustainability and Carbon Certification under ISCC Plus as recognition for adopting the mass balance accounting approach at its compounding sites in Arco, Italy, and Gorzów, Poland, as well as at its Leuna headquarters in eastern Germany.
Mass balance approach in sight for PA 6.6?
The certification can now be used for the more than 300 PA 6-based Domamid- and Technyl-branded engineering polymers the company makes from bio-circular building blocks of caprolactam and allocates according to the ISCC Plus principles using the software of Circularise (The Hague, Netherlands; www.circularise.com). With this achieved, Domo is currently exploring the potential to extend the mass balance approach to its PA 6.6 portfolio.
In 2023, the German player also received the coveted EcoVadis gold medal awarded by the corporate sustainability ratings company of the same name, this time scoring 13 points higher than in 2022, when it won a silver medal.
In other interim steps toward targets established for the end of the millennium’s third decade, Domo last year cut its Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions by 29% against the 2019 baseline, en route to a 40% reduction by 2030 and the planned achievement of “net zero” status by 2050.
The report notes, however, that progress in decarbonisation slowed somewhat last year, due to unspecified “operational and business” issues that Domo’s management is now addressing.
Related: Mass balance approach now industry standard
In the drive to enhance sustainability, the company’s figures show that it widened the share of renewables in its electrical energy mix to 18% in 2023. By 2030, it foresees having a share of 50% and by 2040 relying completely on renewable energy.
As it reviews options for further improving energy efficiency, the PA producer said it will install solar panels and wind turbines at its plants “where feasible”. At the headquarters site, German infrastructure management firm InfraLeuna (Leuna; www.infraleuna.de/en) is negotiating with suppliers for a solar initiative due to kick off in 2026.
To fund its investment in clean energy, Domo points to a “robust financial structure” already in place, adding that it can maximise opportunities through subsidies and key strategic partnerships.
While extending its focus on circular and bio-based materials and boosting its presence in locations as far afield as China, the company intends to continue its strategic collaboration with international partners such as German cutting solutions specialist MARTOR, Austrian energy group OMV, and Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemicals.
These alliances will help to increase the volume of circular and bio-based grades in Domo’s engineered materials portfolio to 20% by 2030 – up from 13% in 2023 – sustainability director Thomas Bollen said.
In 2023, the German player also received the coveted EcoVadis gold medal awarded by the corporate sustainability ratings company of the same name, this time scoring 13 points higher than in 2022, when it won a silver medal.
In other interim steps toward targets established for the end of the millennium’s third decade, Domo last year cut its Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions by 29% against the 2019 baseline, en route to a 40% reduction by 2030 and the planned achievement of “net zero” status by 2050.
The report notes, however, that progress in decarbonisation slowed somewhat last year, due to unspecified “operational and business” issues that Domo’s management is now addressing.
Related: Mass balance approach now industry standard
In the drive to enhance sustainability, the company’s figures show that it widened the share of renewables in its electrical energy mix to 18% in 2023. By 2030, it foresees having a share of 50% and by 2040 relying completely on renewable energy.
As it reviews options for further improving energy efficiency, the PA producer said it will install solar panels and wind turbines at its plants “where feasible”. At the headquarters site, German infrastructure management firm InfraLeuna (Leuna; www.infraleuna.de/en) is negotiating with suppliers for a solar initiative due to kick off in 2026.
To fund its investment in clean energy, Domo points to a “robust financial structure” already in place, adding that it can maximise opportunities through subsidies and key strategic partnerships.
While extending its focus on circular and bio-based materials and boosting its presence in locations as far afield as China, the company intends to continue its strategic collaboration with international partners such as German cutting solutions specialist MARTOR, Austrian energy group OMV, and Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemicals.
These alliances will help to increase the volume of circular and bio-based grades in Domo’s engineered materials portfolio to 20% by 2030 – up from 13% in 2023 – sustainability director Thomas Bollen said.
03.07.2024 Plasteurope.com [255649-0]
Published on 03.07.2024