Pöyry report calls for a recarbonisation revolution of global material flows

Pöyry report calls for a recarbonisation revolution of global material flows by increasing biomass materials over non-renewable ones in the movement of global trade.

Vantaa, Finland, 15-Jan-2016 — /EuropaWire/ — A new Point of View by Pöyry calls for a recarbonisation revolution of global material flows, representing a multi-billion Euro business opportunity for the forest-based industries. Moving just 1% of global business in packaging, plastics and fossil based material flows would equate to roughly 40 billion Euros in annual revenue for the sustainable economy, whilst also helping the world tackle climate change.

To give an idea of the opportunity possible through recarbonisation, the report applies a modest 1% transition to some core markets:

Packaging: Moving 1% of the packaging market from fossil plastics to biopackaging equates to 6 billion Euros in turnover.
Plastics: Moving 1% from fossil plastics to bioplastics equates to about 3.5 billion Euros of new biobusiness.
Material Flow: Substitute 1% of the global volume of fossil fuels with biomass, and process that biomass further in the forest industry would equate to roughly 30 billion Euros of annual new biobusiness.

‘The Recarbonisation Revolution’ details how the world is facing the profound issue of climate change and, at the same time, witnessing new developments in technology and materials sciences. This convergence makes the recarbonisation revolution both desirable and possible.

Quantifying the exact benefits of biobased solutions and recarbonisation is complicated but environmentally a renewable biobased solution beats a fossil-fuel-based one. The carbon in recarbonised flows is CO2-neutral as part of a closed loop as long as the loop functions well. As an example of the possible carbon savings possible through recarbonisation, eliminating plastic bags globally would reduce the equivalent of the UK’s total annual CO2 emissions by 5%.

Petri Vasara, Head of Biofutures at Pöyry and author of the report, said:

Recarbonisation is already a global business with a turnover in the tens of billions of Euros and major players across the globe. For example, where the old Airbus A340 consisted of about 10% composites, the new A350 is made of more than 50% – this gives an idea of the potential for new biocomposites. Despite this growth however, the exact roles of players remain unclear and the rules are still being determined. We are all now in the process and are able to influence what is going to happen.
There is room for many winners in the recarbonisation revolution as companies are only now organising the complex value chains. A simplified value chain for recarbonisation starts with biomass, such as wood and waste, and ends with the consumer interacting with the brand. In fact recarbonisation in materials is very much driven by brands, as the pull of a brand promise is a powerful incentive for the whole value chain, such as IKEA’s promise to have 100% renewable or recycled plastic in its products by 2020.

Four material platforms stand out as examples of the possibilities of recarbonisation: lignin, sugar, nanocellulose and graphene. The first three are carbon-based and graphene is pure carbon. Together they have the potential to radically change the materials world. When lignin, sugar, nanocellulose and graphene are mixed with each other and/or other materials into biocomposites, there is a great deal of possibilities in materials production.

Download the Point of View: The Recarbonisation Revolution

For further information contact:

Metin Parlak
H+K Strategies
metin.parlak@hkstrategies.com
+44 207 413 3771

James Townsend
External Communications Manager, Pöyry
james.townsend@poyry.com
+44 7824 145091

About Pöyry

Pöyry is an international consulting and engineering company. We serve clients globally across the energy and industrial sectors and provide local services in our core markets. We deliver management consulting and engineering services, underpinned by strong project implementation capability and expertise. Our focus sectors are power generation, transmission & distribution, forest industry, chemicals & biorefining, mining & metals, transportation and water. Pöyry has an extensive local office network employing about 6,000 experts. Pöyry’s net sales in 2014 were EUR 571 million and the company’s shares are quoted on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki (Pöyry PLC: POY1V).

Website: www.poyry.com

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