Philadelphia — Materials makers Dow Inc. and Arkema SA are working to meet sustainability goals.
"There's no magic bullet in sustainability," Dow senior R&D director Narayan Ramesh said March 4 at Antec 2025 in Philadelphia. "We need practical and scalable solutions."
Policy, technology, investment and collaboration "all are needed" to meet industry goals, he added.
Even though plastics account for only 2 percent of U.S. emissions, Nareshi said the industry "need to stop waste and close the loop." He added a systems approach using both advanced and mechanical recycling is needed.
"We can wipe the slate clean or build on what we've done well," Nareshi said. He added that "a lot of work needs to be done" to understand the impact of microplastics. "Current standards don't represent real world microplastics," he said.
Midland, Mich.-based Dow is expanding its Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, site to make more sustainable materials, including polyethylene resin. The firm's board approved a $6.5 billion investment in that project in late 2023.
At Arkema — based in Colombes, France, with U.S. offices in King of Prussia, Pa. —the firm is working to develop materials for green energy and e-mobility markets, R&D Vice President Arthur Martin said. He added Arkema annually invests 3 percent of its revenue into R&D work.
High-performance polymers made by Arkema include nylons 11 and 12, PVDF and PEEK. Applications for these materials include lithium battreries and footwear.
Martin said Arkema also is seeing growth in its Rilsan-brand nylon 11 and Pebax-brand TPEs, both of which are organically sourced from castor oil.