Japan-based Toray Industries, Inc., and Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. are aiming to collaborate on the establishment of a biomass plastics supply chain. The two companies have entered into an agreement which will see Idemitsu manufacture mass-balanced biomass styrene monomer derived from biomass naphtha, which Toray will then polymerise into biomass ABS at its plant in Chiba. If all goes according to schedule, starting in October this year Toray will become the first first in Japan to produce biomass ABS resin.
The project is in response to the awareness, shared by both companies, that achieving a carbon-neutral economy by 2050 is a key business challenge. They have both explored establishing a biomass plastics supply chain by deploying eco-friendly biomass raw materials. They have now joined forces to work towards lowering the CO2 emissions associated with plastics production.
Biomass naphtha is derived from plant-based raw materials, giving it a smaller carbon footprint than its fossil-based counterpart.
Idemitsu has set 2050 as its target for achieving net zero carbon dioxide emissions from its own operations, but also aims to help cut customers’ emissions by delivering energy and materials that make it possible to attain a carbon-neutral, circular economy.
For Toray, all business strategies must prioritise responsibility for the global environment in an effort to help build a more sustainable world with a small carbon footprint. To that end, the company has implemented and continues to expand its Green Innovation Business Expansion Project, through which it is working to reduce its greenhouse gas emission levels. It also aims to develop technologies and products that help absorb these emissions, thus helping to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 internally and for the economy as a whole.