Committed to Sustainability Through Eco-Profile Contributions
In order to determine the potential environmental impacts associated with various plastics materials, it is important to collect and analyze data from multiple sources, so that an accurate eco-profile of each material can be created. The Styron business has been instrumental in the creation of plastics eco-profiles both in Europe and North America to help the plastics industry make well-informed product decisions.
In 1990, the Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe (Plastics Europe) pioneered the first eco-profiles for virtually all types of plastics materials, and the Styron business1 played a key role in collecting and contributing cradle-to-gate data for its polystyrene and polycarbonate resins. Using Life Cycle Analysis, the Plastics Europe team gathered data from various companies and consolidated that data into average Life Cycle Inventories (LCIs). Energy and raw materials used, water consumption, emissions, and waste are just some of the variables analyzed to create each eco-profile.
More recently, Styron was instrumental in the establishment of cradle-to-gate life cycle inventories of plastic resins and polyurethane precursors for The Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council. Styron’s past and present contributions to eco-profiles demonstrates the company’s rich heritage of environmental and product stewardship and its commitment to advancing the sustainability of its products and processes.
On the American Chemistry Council’s web site, you will find Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) for individual resins and full LCAs for select products (scroll down to the subhead “Environmental Profile Analyses”). To view eco-profiles on various plastics products from the European database, visit the Plastics Europe website.
1During this time, Styron was wholly owned by The Dow Chemical Company.
