Swedish compounder Polykemi Group and its subsidiary Scanfill are now certified according to International Sustainability and Carbon Certification Plus (ISCC Plus). The certification applies to Polykemi’s facility in Ystad, Sweden, for the production of polymers based on biological residues, like used frying oil or waste from the forestry industry.
Polykemi’s quality and environmental manager Jörgen Andersson said showing what the company is doing to reduce the carbon footprint of its materials is no longer a request from its customers but a ‘requirement’.
Internationally recognised, ISCC Plus is the leading global certification system that provides supply chain transparency and traceability for sustainable feedstocks used to manufacture chemically recycled polymers. With ISCC PLUS, producing companies ensure that the sustainability of their raw materials can be fully and transparently traced, from the field to the store. The certification requires companies to follow the mass balance or material segregation chain of custody models. This helps to ensure that the amount of bio-based, circular, or renewable content is tracked across the value chain.
The current certification applies only to the production of Polykemi’s bio-based polymers, but a certification applying to recycled polymers is planned as a ‘second step’, according to Andersson. ‘The certification process is more extensive and complex when it comes to recycled raw materials and therefore comes in a second step’, he explained.
Polykemi makes compounds based on a wide range of resins for the automotive, furniture and household industries. The firm has existing plants in Sweden, China, and since March this year also in the United States.