SUSTAINABILITY PRIORITIES AND CHALLENGES: 2021 SURVEY RESULTS

In April and May of 2021, SpecialChem hosted its annual “Innovation Days” online events across three major verticals in the specialty chemicals and materials industry: cosmetics, coatings & adhesives, and plastics. 

The primary focus of the 2021 edition was Sustainable Innovations and Solutions.

During each of the 3 industry-specific events, a survey was conducted to understand the industry needs related to sustainability.

1. How widely are sustainability goals adopted?
2. What are the industry priorities to achieve sustainability?
3. And what are the challenges to meet sustainability goals?

This article is an EXCERPT of individual reports on our Sustainabiilty Survey Results 2021. To request a complete report by one or more of the 3 verticals covered, complete with further analysis of the responses and demographics, please contact me directly through LinkedIn or visit the Contact Us forms on any of the SpecialChem - The Material Selection Platform websites.

🟢 Here’s a SNAPSHOT of key learnings from 923 TOTAL RESPONDENTS to this survey:

It's clear that it's a RESOUNDING YES when it comes to making sustainability a systematic goal within organizations.

Now let's take a deeper look at the survey responses for focus of sustainability initiatives and challenges to meet sustainability targets.  

🟢 FOCUS OF SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES

72% of the respondents from cosmetics and personal care are working on two or more sustainability areas. The use of renewable and/or biobased materials and the reduction of the use of controversial materials are the leading initiatives, with 86% and 72% respectively. Then comes the waste reduction for half of the respondents (50%). Climate change is more and more a priority for cosmetics, with 36% of the respondents declaring it as a focus area.

 More than 70% of the respondents from CAS are working on two or more sustainability areas. VOC reduction is the leading topic with 67%. If we take into consideration the high representativeness of the professionals from industrial applications, we may reasonably argue that VOC reduction is a pressure that is present in all CAS markets. The next two topics are the usage of recycled materials and waste reduction with 35% and 33% respectively. The use of renewable or bio-based materials is far below, while energy-saving seems to be a minor topic for the respondents from the CAS industry.

Nearly 75% of the respondents from the plastics industry are working on two or more sustainability areas. Use of recycled materials and the recyclability of their products are the leading initiatives, with 69% and 59% respectively. Then comes the usage of renewable / bio-based materials with 51%. Climate change does not show as a high focus (25%).

🟢 CHALLENGES TO MEET SUSTAINABILITY TARGETS

When asked about the main challenges they face to achieve their sustainability targets, cosmetics and personal care industry respondents mention the performance of the sustainable materials most often (43%). Then comes cost-related issues (19%), which is correlated with their primary concern about performance with most trying to find the right price/performance balance. Among the most cited performance issues, we heard from respondents the topics of formulation stability, rheology modification, and the aesthetics and “feeling” properties of the products based on sustainable ingredients.

When asked about the main challenges that they face to achieve their sustainability targets, CAS industry respondents mention most the performance of the sustainable materials (66%). Then comes cost-related challenges (47%), which is a clear indication that the market is continuously looking for high performance and economically viable raw materials. Availability of sustainable raw materials was mentioned by 43%. One could also argue that given the generalized shortages of more or less every material today, mentioning the availability of sustainable materials is nothing but normal.

When asked about the main challenges they face to achieve their sustainability targets, respondents from the plastics industry overwhelmingly mention the performance of the sustainable materials (81%). Then comes materials availability (55%), which is correlated with their primary focus on recyclability, as we know that recycled plastics are short on the market.

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This ARTICLE is an EXCERPT of individual industry reports on our Sustainabiilty Survey Results 2021. To request a complete report by industry with further analysis of the responses and demographics, please contact me directly through LinkedIn or visit the Contact Us forms on any of the SpecialChem - The Material Selection Platform websites.