For goals and planned key actions for 2024 and beyond, please refer to the full Combined Annual Report 2023.
The incredible versatility of plastics has been a key ingredient in improving life and increasing living standards in today’s world, by making our lives more efficient, convenient and safe. However, in our current linear economic model, plastic products are made, used and eventually disposed of. Continuing with this model will lead to more plastic waste and environmental pollution, while putting pressure on the planet’s limited resources.
The solution is to transition to a circular economy, where plastics are reused or recycled and made from renewable feedstock, reducing our dependence on fossil feedstock. A circular economy therefore decouples economic growth and resource constraints, while reducing waste leakage into the environment. The circular economy will also help to limit climate change, as it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using mechanical and chemical recycling instead of incineration and renewable feedstock instead of virgin feedstock.
Borealis’ ambition is to lead the transformation to a circular economy, and it is working intensively to be able to offer an alternative to the linear economy, across all its applications. To support this journey, Borealis created EverMinds™, a platform to accelerate action on circularity for plastic, to help inspire and create more impact for circular solutions.
To achieve its circular economy ambitions, Borealis has established two dedicated departments. These are:
The Circular Economy Innovation Studio in Borealis’ Innovation Headquarters in Linz, Austria, is the Group’s spearhead for technology and innovation, while the Digital Solutions group in Brussels, Belgium, supports with the creation of digital solutions for circularity. Since OMV Group acquired a majority stake in Borealis, the companies have joined forces to develop several circular economy areas, such as chemical recycling and feedstock sourcing.
To transition to a truly circular and carbon-neutral economy, a variety of solutions are required to keep products circulating at their highest value, quality and utility over many lifetimes. Borealis therefore believes in using a full suite of carefully chosen technologies, in a complementary and cascading way, through the following hierarchy:
Borealis is targeting production capacity for circular solutions of 600,000 1) metric tons by 2025 and 1.8 million metric tons by 2030. In 2023, the Group’s total production capacity for circular solutions was 195,200 metric tons, up 32% on 2022. Borealis also processed 116,300 metric tons of circular feedstock, down 0.5% compared to the previous year.
1) Global capacities including non-consolidated Joint Ventures (Borouge). This target is under review.
1) Total capacity for circular solutions established means circular supply capability of polymers (e.g. polyolefins) and chemicals (e.g. olefins) based on recycled content and/or biobased/renewable feedstock. // 2) Total circular feedstock processed covers the actual input of feedstock for mechanical and chemical recycling, as well as renewable feedstock.
This year it became particularly clear that Borealis is dependent on external factors to achieve its production capacity targets, such as economic conditions, voluntary pledges by companies in the value chain and regulatory developments. Specifically on biobased products, the absence of supporting policies and the high cost of feedstock is making their volume targets very challenging. Even though the Group faces the above dependencies, it will endeavor to close the gap to its strategic targets.
Borealis’ foam business is a prime example of eco-efficient polyolefin (PO) solutions. This business line is used in industries such as packaging, sports, transport and construction, and helps facilitate the transition to a circular economy as it is especially suited to ultra-lightweight foam applications while being fully recyclable.
Borealis has further increased its participation in the UK company Bockatech Limited from 7.35% to 12.25%. Bockatech Limited is commercializing Bockatech EcoCore, which is a patented manufacturing technology for foamed articles, using Borealis HMS (high melt strength) polypropylene.
Reuse is a core part of Borealis’ integrated approach. Partnerships are vital for scaling up reuse activities and ensuring sustainable growth, and the Group strengthened its commitment in 2023 by engaging in several collaborative projects with value-chain partners.
Borealis has joined the 4everPack consortium, a two-year research program run by the Finnish institute VTT and funded by Business Finland. The project aims to replace the linear economy with a fully circular model, focusing on the reusable packaging value chain. Borealis will provide its know-how and expertise in innovative material and packaging design for the selected reuse systems. Several articles and conference papers have been published showing the consortium’s findings.
Borealis also launched an open innovation challenge on the topic of reusable e-commerce solutions.
To promote Design for Recycling, Borealis actively promotes its ten Codes of Conduct for PO packaging designers. These are being incorporated into assessment methodologies for recyclability, for example in future modulated Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) guidelines for packaging. Borealis also applies its innovation activities to develop alternatives to materials and material combinations that are not recyclable today and collaborates with strategic valuechain partners to expand its range of monomaterial solutions.
At the Plastic Recycling Show Europe 2023, Borealis launched a new monomaterial pouch containing over 95% polypropylene (PP), which is fully designed for mechanical recycling. This can help meet the ambitious recycling and waste reduction targets set out in the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, as well as eco-modulation criteria for EPR programs.
The digital watermarks initiative Holy Grail 2.0 is now entering the final phase of research and development trials, to validate the technology at the highest technical level and make it ready for market entry. Borealis will perform recycling tests on the PP film and polyethylene flexibles generated by the sorting trials at Hündgen Entsorgung, which are using the packaging volumes put on the market by participating companies of the Holy Grail 2.0 initiative in Germany and Denmark.
To support the transition to a circular economy, Borealis is building up its Borcycle™ portfolio to meet growing demand for high-quality recyclate that helps producers and brand owners to meet environmental and regulatory challenges. Borcycle transforms plastic-waste streams into value-adding, high-performance and versatile solutions for demanding applications. The portfolio includes Borcycle™ M, based on mechanical recycling processes, and Borcycle™ C, which uses chemical recycling technology and is suitable for very demanding applications, such as food contact materials. Borcycle C grades are ISCC PLUS (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) certified using the mass balance methodology.
A fully transparent chain of custody is important to the circular economy, as it provides essential information on the origin of circular feedstock, the yield from the operation and how much of the feedstock is allocated to the end-product. Borealis has chosen ISCC PLUS as its certification body. In July 2023, the Group’s PO compounding site in Monza, Italy, received ISCC PLUS certification, with the mtm plastics mechanical recycling plant achieving the certification in November 2023. Earlier Borealis had achieved the milestone of having all its European PO operations and PO compounding sites certified (except for the newly acquired Rialti S.p.A. in Taino, Italy), in addition to the Renasci N.V. recycling sites in Ostend, Belgium, and Ecoplast in Wildon, Austria.
Borealis’ cooperation with OMV and its proprietary chemical recycling technology, ReOil®, is key to the Group’s circular economy strategy. After two years of continuous production in its ReOil100 pilot plant, OMV started construction of the ReOil2000 demonstration plant in 2022, with a target to start production in 2024.
Borealis began a partnership with Renasci N.V. in 2021, to work on the innovative Smart Chain Processing (SCP) concept, including a plastic to pyrolysis oils process. In 2022, Borealis took a minority share in Renasci N.V., which it increased to a majority shareholding of 50.01% in early 2023. On November 30, 2023, Borealis increased its shareholding in Renasci N.V. from 50.01% to 98.56%, enabling deeper synergies between the two companies.
The investment gives Borealis greater access to chemically recycled feedstock, strengthening the Borcycle C portfolio. Borcycle C chemical recycling provides circular solutions for difficult-to-recycle cross-linked polyethylene, such as XLPE and PE-X, for the wire and cable and infrastructure sectors. Borealis, Neste, Uponor and Wastewise Group have started the first production of PE-X pipes, based on feedstock from chemically recycled PE-X waste. The project shows that chemical recycling can process hard-to-recycle waste plastic into high-quality polymer products.
In June 2023, Borealis signed an agreement to acquire Italian company Rialti S.p.A, one of Europe’s leading producers of mechanically recycled PP compounds for injection molding and extrusion. The transaction was closed in October 2023. The investment strengthens Borealis’ circular portfolio, by adding 50,000 metric tons of recycled compounding capacity and meeting growing customer demand for sustainable solutions.
In November 2023, Borealis announced the signing of an agreement to acquire Integra Plastics AD, an advanced mechanical recycling player based in Bulgaria. The investment will further strengthen Borealis’ advanced mechanical recycling portfolio, adding more than 20,000 metric tons of recycling capacity, and support growing customer demand for sustainable solutions. The closing of this transaction is subject to inter alia customary regulatory approvals.
The Bornewables™ polyolefins (PO) portfolio made with renewable feedstock is one of the Group’s solutions for reducing the carbon footprint of plastic and its customers’ plastics applications. The Bornewables portfolio uses ISCC PLUS mass balance certification, offers the same high performance as virgin PO and can be recycled in the same way.
In 2023, Borealis introduced the Bornewables line of Queo™ plastomers and elastomers. This followed the ISCC PLUS certification of Borealis’ production site for the Queo portfolio in Geleen, the Netherlands.
Borealis’ customer PFNonwovens Group is a leading global producer of customized nonwoven fabrics, used in baby care, medical, adult incontinence and feminine hygiene applications. In 2023, it announced that it is reducing the carbon footprint of nonwovens and accelerating its journey towards climate neutrality by using Bornewables polypropylene (PP) for absorbent hygiene products. Bornewables PP is secondgeneration renewable feedstock, derived entirely from waste and residue vegetable oil streams.
Borealis is exploring carbon capture technologies and the use of carbon emissions as a primary raw material, to accelerate the move away from fossil-based resources. Following the first proofs of concepts, the target is to scale up these initiatives in 2024.
All Borealis initiatives which demonstrate the Group’s progress in the circular economy are positioned under the EverMinds™ platform. The platform stands for accelerating and celebrating action in the circular economy, based on partnerships and cooperation across the value chain. This recognizes that the PO industry can only achieve circularity if all members of the value chain work together. All products will need to be designed for recyclability, and converters and brand owners will have to value high percentages of recycled content in their products. At the same time, quality waste streams will be needed for recycling, which requires higher waste collection rates and more efficient waste sorting.
To support this cooperation, Borealis hosted seven live webinars on sustainability and circular economy topics in 2023. The webinars were tailored for all industry clusters and targeted customers and value-chain partners. Most sessions were either hosted with Borouge or with guest speakers, including Ansmann AG, denkstatt GmbH, Essity, Merck KGaA and Reclay Group. On average, each webinar had more than 400 registrations and an attendance rate of 50%. Recordings are offered to the target groups on-demand.
Borealis is a member of “Sustainable Plastics Industry Transformation”, or SPIRIT, a collaborative research and development program driving the transformation of the plastics industry in Finland. More than ten partnerships have been established with research organizations and value-chain partners.
The Group is also a member of the Renewable Carbon Initiative, which aims to support and accelerate the transition from fossil carbon to renewable carbon for all organic chemicals and materials. The initiative looks to bring stakeholders together, provide information and shape policy, to strive for a climate-neutral circular economy.
As a member of the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, Borealis supports the development of the UN Instrument to End Plastic Pollution, which is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to tackle the plastic pollution crisis in a globally coordinated way. The resolution adopted at the UN Environmental Assembly in March 2022 marked the start of negotiations and was a clear call for system change towards a circular economy for plastics.
Over 170 leading businesses support the Coalition alongside Borealis, providing recommendations for negotiators on elements of the future agreement that will support an ambitious and effective global regulatory framework.
For 2024, Borealis’ focus will be to further expand its mechanical and chemical recycling production capacities, while enlarging the circular product portfolio. The Group will continue to support technology development for better sorting and recycling solutions and explore alternative business models around closed-loop systems. Borealis specifically envisages decisions in terms of investments in new polymer recycling technologies.
