Deloitte: Sustainability, consumer preferences to shape materials innovation

A recent report from Deloitte Consulting LLP has put a spotlight on two forces shaping materials innovation: sustainability and consumer preferences.

"Innovation may be once again changing the game in the chemicals industry," officials with Deloitte said in the report, which then identified "a heightened focus on sustainability" and "changing customer preferences."

They added that this potential transformation "is taking place amid historic pressure on the industry. … Some companies are pursuing [research and development] and investments against short timelines … [and] these capital expenditure decisions, in some cases, must be made even before supply chains for new feedstocks have been secured."

In a recent interview with Plastics News, David Yankovitz, a principal and U.S. chemicals market leader with Deloitte, said that sustainability programs are faced with both challenges and opportunities, including finding ways to scale up to commercial production levels.

"Feedstocks are front and center, whether it's recycled or bio-based," Yankovitz said. "A lot of strategy revolves around feedstocks."

Specialist executive Robert Kumpf added that the scale of various sustainability approaches — including chemical recycling and depolymerization — "isn't at the scale of polymer production."

OEMs and brand owners "are accelerating the need for more lower-carbon products," according to Yankovitz. "There's a lot of value on the table to go after materials. … That support will go anywhere that values an ecosystem."

Kumpf said newer generations of bioplastics are finding homes in specialty applications and that companies focused on a circular economy "are being innovative about recycling."

Yankovitz and Kumpf authored the report, "The Future of Materials," along with colleagues Kate Hardin and Ashlee Christian.

The drivers of shifting demand and sustainability "have contributed to today's innovation in advanced materials," according to the report, which added that the current acceleration "is likely due … to advancements in enabling technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D printing and material informatics."

Deloitte officials added in the report that companies can reduce scope 1 and scope 2 emissions through electrification, renewable energy usage, clean hydrogen usage and efficiency improvements. Circular ecosystems can abate upstream and downstream scope 3 emissions through bio-based organic building blocks, advanced chemical recycling and industrial bio-based operations, according to the report.

Consumer preferences "may shift as new products are developed and existing products are improved to solve problems [and] fulfill needs," the report said. It identified greater demand for medical devices and electric vehicles as possible consumer shifts.

"Each one of these shifts in demand could reverberate through the products' supply chain," according to the report. "Some shifts may only impact one part or component, but other shifts could impact every part of the supply chain, from feedstocks to end use."