Two companies have come together to tackle one of the biggest drivers of pollution on the planet: plastic. But this isn't about recycling. According to Packaging World, Honeywell and SGP BioEnergy have joined forces in an effort to make the creation of plastic cleaner.
Ninety-nine percent of plastic is made using chemicals derived from dirty energy sources like oil and gas. The production of plastic worldwide is reportedly responsible for four times as much planet-heating pollution as air travel.
Honeywell and SGP plan to develop plant-based chemicals that can reduce the plastic industry's reliance on oil and gas, and they plan to do so largely using hemp. Honeywell will develop the technology, while SGP will provide the infrastructure, workforce, and the feedstock.
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SGP will do this using its Ready.Grow program, which seeks to work with farmers around the world to cultivate materials in a sustainable fashion that can be used in place of oil and gas, with non-narcotic, industrial hemp the cornerstone of the business model.
The move is part of Honeywell's portfolio realignment, which includes energy transition.
"This cutting-edge technology will enable the production of a variety of petrochemical alternatives using second-generation feedstocks," said Honeywell Energy and Sustainability Solutions Chief Technology and Growth Officer Bryan Glover. "By using hemp and other non-edible feedstocks to produce these important chemicals, Honeywell and SGP BioEnergy are helping to reduce the world's reliance on fossil fuels without impacting the food chain."
A study conducted by scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates that if plastic production stays on its current course, it will account for between 21 and 31% of global carbon pollution by 2050. That's exactly what Honeywell and SGP are looking to avoid.
"Advancements in the creation and use of biochemicals and biomass are bringing the world to a transformative inflection point," said Randy Delbert Letang, founder and CEO of SGP BioEnergy. "The global stakeholder demand is continually growing, and policies to incentivize cleaner and safer solutions are signed among many of those stakeholders."
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