Focus Area

Circular economy

We nurture strong partnerships across the industry, making sustainability our starting point to help ensure long-term, holistic growth for all. We strive to embed circularity in future applications from the beginning of the production process to help you harness Next circular breakthroughs.
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Challenge: Going all out for circularity

On a planet of finite resources, the ‘take-make-waste’ principle of the linear economy has to come to an end. This is why we are dedicated to opening new ways into tomorrow’s circular economy through diverse measures and collaborations along the value chain: by using alternative raw materials in our own production, by embracing the use of greener energy, and by developing materials that can be recycled more easily.

Reaching full circularity, however, is especially challenging when it comes to coatings, inks, and adhesives. For decades, high-performance paints and coatings were almost always solventborne, with a carbon base coming exclusively from fossil resources. And once applied, the materials themselves cannot usually be recycled. This makes it even more important to lower their ecological impact as far as possible, and to turn them into enablers for new, more sustainable technologies.

Key Drivers

  • Replacing fossil resources

    Replacing fossil resources

    The coatings and adhesives industry can’t fully dispense with fossil resources and other conventional raw materials – yet. But the higher the share of alternative raw materials available, the more sustainable products will become in the future.

  • Doing more with less waste

    Doing more with less waste

    One of the most effective actions to improve circularity is to maximize the efficiency of limited resources, in both production and final products. Coatings and adhesives can contribute to this goal by simplifying the design of packaging and other items.

  • Teaming up to tackle challenges

    Teaming up to tackle challenges

    Consumers are becoming more conscious of the sustainability of the products and services they use. Players throughout the value chain need to listen closely to those needs and ideas, and team up to address the challenges lying ahead of us.

Status: From more renewable materials to recycling

Pressure is mounting on manufacturers to reduce their carbon footprint. The way that customers think and feel about materials is changing, and regulations are catching up. Fortunately, breakthrough material innovations have proven that there is a path beyond fossil-based coatings.

Considerable parts of fossil-carbon content can now be replaced with carbon sourced from biomass, or partly plant-based materials, without compromising on functionality or aesthetic appeal. We’re proud to offer a portfolio of solutions containing at least 25% non-fossil raw materials. These CQ (‘circular intelligence’) solutions are already supporting our customers across the automotive, furniture, and other industries.

Going one step further, mass balancing can help you start reducing your carbon footprint without making technical modifications. It’s a chain-of-custody approach that allows the attribution of alternative raw materials to offer more sustainable solutions while continuing to work with your existing formulations, infrastructure and assets – and maintaining the same high performance. We offer mass-balanced-certified solutions for selected products.

And a coating’s impact doesn’t stop at the end of its lifetime. Recycling end-of-life products is no longer an optional benefit, but an essential pillar of the transition to a more circular economy. It’s important that all actors in the value chain focus on the entire product lifecycle. The packaging and print industry is a forerunner here. That’s why, starting with this industry, we’re also working to develop new technologies and innovations that can promote both mechanical and chemical recycling.

Facts & figures

  • Bigger demand for bio-based feedstocks

    Bigger demand for bio-based feedstocks

    Demand for bio-based feedstocks is expected to reach 200 million tons in 2050, up from 45 million tons in 2020. ¹

  • Cutting greenhouse gas emissions

    Cutting greenhouse gas emissions

    Circular economy strategies could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 39%. ²

  • Recycling on the rise

    Recycling on the rise

    The EU is currently proposing a minimum percentage of recycled plastic in the automotive and plastic packaging sectors. ³

Next: Ambitious goals to meet

Throughout the value chain, more and more businesses are investing in new technologies to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions. In line with these commitments, we’ve also set our ambitions high: net-zero emissions from our own production and purchased energy by 2035; more alternative raw materials and a significant reduction of raw material-induced greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. 

We’re aiming to make our entire portfolio available in climate-neutral versions – leveraging all our R&D capabilities along the way.

Hands-on solutions

Circular Economy

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    Partly bio-based isocyanate hardeners for industrial coatings

    Discover Covestro’s partly bio-based isocyanates for the industrial coatings market. Create industrial coatings that support your carbon-footprint targets.

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    Decovery® CQ 2110: Low-VOC flooring resin

    Discover flooring resin materials with Decovery® CQ 2110: A 36% bio-based binder designed to enable low-VOC wood flooring solutions. Learn more about it!

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    Premium UV-Curing Resins for Flooring

    Discover our high-performance UV-curing resins for floor coatings. Ideal for manufacturers. Explore your options today!

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    UV-curing resins | P&P

    Discover how to create cost-effective, low-migration inks and coatings for printing and packaging using UV-curable resins.

  • Story

    UV resins that are mostly bio-based 

    UV coatings with sustainable materials: Learn how to create ultraviolet coatings with up-to-83%-bio-based resins. 

  • Story

    Polyisocyanate crosslinker portfolio from Covestro

    More sustainable IPDI product line with reduced carbon footprint, enabled via a mass-balance approach.

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