Japan-headquartered Asahi Kasei has announced that in June, it became a member of European Bioplastics, the European association representing the interests of the bioplastics industry along the entire value chain. The association, founded in Germany in 1993, has around 70 member companies.
Asahi Kasei activities in this area include the development of a PA 66 made from hexamethylenediamine (HMD) based on biomass-derived raw material. To that end, the company recently formed a strategic partnership with Genomatica, the producer of bio-based HMD. Until now, Asahi Kasei has used fossil fuel derived HMD as an intermediate to manufacture its Leona polyamide 66, which is used for plastic parts in automotive and electronics applications, as well as yarn for airbag fabric. In this way, the company is striving to fulfil the aims set down in its current medium-term management plan: to contribute to a sustainable society and to strive for sustainable growth of corporate value. According to Asahi Kasei, the two are mutually reinforcing aspects of sustainability; the company has established strategies directed towards a long-term vision for the future in areas that provide value.
One of these areas, Environment & Energy, has been identified as a priority field for the ‘provision of value’. This includes a focus on solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from chemical products derived from fossil fuels.Asahi Kasei expects that its membership in EUBP will foster greater value creation in the area of the environment.
Since the European Commission announced its Green Deal in 2019, various environmental policies have been launched across the European Union. Asahi Kasei will contribute to the establishment of regulatory frameworks conducive to the dissemination of bioplastics by proactively offering opinions in EUBP working groups. At the same time, involvement in EUBP will enable Asahi Kasei to quickly discern trends in European environmental policy, which may be leveraged in Japan and other regions.