Sustainability has become a powerful worldwide movement with government, industry and civil society realising that there is no other way, other than putting sustainability principles to work and into action to ensure that future generations are left with enough resources for their comfortable living on earth, that the ill effects of climate change are reversed before it reaches a point of no return and our entire living shifts to using materials that are totally benign to the environment, recyclable with no waste.
Sustainability is moving into wider and wider deployment in industry. What is the plan of action for its effective implementation and how can the results from transition to sustainable operations from each industry and every company be measured.
Chemical Industry Digest in this special focus on sustainability in the chemical industry, discusses, debates and articulates the views of CEOs of global MNCs and major chemical companies, premier research organisation and global renewable carbon research and consultancy organisation.
Chemical Industry Digest is privileged to obtain the views of Michael Carus, Managing Director, nova-Institute. His views are presented here.
Michael Carus is Founder, Board Member and Managing Director of nova-Institute. He studied physics at the University of Cologne. He worked as a scientific staff member for nuclear energy and environment at the University of Tuebingen, as a scientific journalist for different professional magazines, at the KATALYSE-Umweltinstitut in Cologne (head of the department environment and resources), for the US company Tektronix GmbH in Cologne (IT) as well as for the company Flachglas Solartechnik GmbH in Cologne (solar power) until founding the nova-Institute for Political and Ecological Innovation together with other scientists in 1994. Carus is a member of various associations, societies and international organisations. Carus is a science-based advisor on corporate strategy, policy and sustainability in the chemical, plastics and fibre industries around the world. In 2020, Carus initiated the Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI). The RCI aims to support and accelerate the transition from fossil carbon to renewable carbon for all organic chemicals and materials.
Chemical Industry Digest (CID): Sustainability has become a loosely bandied word with any companies using the word sustainability as a promotional word attached to their company brand identity. How can we rid the concept of an arbitrariness and introduce a practical set of matrices to define it clearly? What are its more important components and characteristics, based on which best in class, measurable outcomes can be drawn?
Michael Carus (MC): It is correct that sustainability is often used in a very loose fashion and for marketing purposes. It is a tricky term as sustainability includes a variety of environmental, social and economic aspects that have to be considered. Is a product that requires less land but increases nutrients in water more sustainable than its counterpart or not? And depending on the context, different aspects are of higher relevance than others. Clear criteria that are specific for different aspects, segments and products can help to establish a solid foundation which allows a better evaluation of sustainability. The European Commission will develop quality criteria for sustainability claims to avoid greenwashing, which is an important step along the way. nova-Institute’s path is to focus on the substitution of fossil carbon, which is the main cause of climate change, with renewable carbon as feedstock for the chemical and derived materials industries. This carbon
can either be bio-based, CO2-based or recycled.
CID: Business and industry are until now modelled on profitability outcomes which override other concerns. So how can corporates transit to the platform of sustainability, from the current mindset of take – make – dispose? What would be the net benefits to companies
for shifting to sustainability? Would it entail additional costs for its products & services?
MC: The way our economic system functions, it is only natural that businesses are modelled on profitability. We think that many businesses are actively engaging with the sustainability topic, looking for ways to lessen their impacts while still staying competitive,
and of course also looking for new technologies and products that combine sustainability and an edge on the market. In other words, the mindset changes are often already there, but difficult to realise if the options to realise these changes are not competitive.
Policy plays a critical role in the shift towards sustainability, it has the opportunity and means to create a system that encourages the switch of mindset. Most of all environmental and social externalities are not factored in product costs today, the polluter-pays principle
is still not implemented in many aspects of our economy as of yet.
There are quite clear calculations of the costs of greenhouse gas emissions, down to a per-ton price per CO2 equivalent. If these prices were enforced on companies, this would become a strong lever towards greenhouse gas emission reductions that level the playing field between fossil-based and alternative products. And in that regard, we think policy should not only look at the “end-of-pipe“ emissions, but rather at the beginning of the value chain: to truly transform our industries, we have to systematically fade out fossil carbon from the ground. This additional fossil carbon is 70-80% responsible for the climate change!
CID: Climate change and consequent global warming and its disastrous impact on the world are real and even frightening. In what all ways can the core problem of climate change be addressed? If mainly through adoption of new sustainable technologies,
then should governments incentivise the adoption of such technologies and help in the
transition? This latter question is more relevant for developing countries.
MC: The core problem of climate change is the increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Consequently, avoiding further increase of greenhouse gases would slow down climate change, and reducing the concentration of GHGs can even reverse climate change. But despite awareness of climate change since the 1980’s, we have not managed to slow it down at all. Personal constraint and sufficiency thinking are often recommended – fly less, eat less, walk or cycle instead of using the car.
These recommendations are commendable, but they are neither realistic in an increasingly prosperous and still going world. Who are we to forbid people in developing countries to also gain access to some of the luxuries we have been enjoying for decades? At the same time, the focus on personal sacrifice takes away the focus on the large and heavy
industries that have been earning fortunes from unsustainable technologies in the past and today.
We do believe that the way forward needs to incorporate new technologies that are more efficient and also more effective – a shift away from simply improving what we have and becoming more efficient towards doing the right things in the right way. Two key pathways here are full and rapid deployment of renewable energies and replacing fossil carbon as a material feedstock with renewable carbon. Both can be achieved with the technologies and innovations already available today.
CID: According to you, what suite of technologies are currently feasible or in the near future in each of these areas: Shift from fossil fuels and fossil derived materials to biomass/renewables? Recycling of waste and advancing the cicular economy? Carbon dioxide capture and utilisation? Intrinsically clean processes that produce zero waste and zero emissions? Any breakthrough technologies in the offing?
MC: All three are extremely important and can only together replace the entirety of fossil carbon. There is no one-fit all solution. Fossil fuels can be replaced by electric alternatives, but in some segments (e.g. aviation) we will still need classic fuels for a while. These fuels
should then be based on renewable feedstocks. The best carbon source from the renewable carbon family has to be identified for a specific region and application. For example, in
Northern countries with a high abundance of timber, wood automatically becomes a potent solution, but less so in areas with low forest density.
We do think that all of the potential solutions out there need to be fully investigated, and that future regulations in that regard should remain open to all kinds of technology. Renewable carbon could be used as a guiding principle to steer the direction, while the actual technological realisation could be tailored flexibly to the given circumstances.
CID: Does nova-Institute have technologies available, off the shelf that companies can buy, adapt and use straight away? Or do you do custom research and develop sustainable technologies that are company specific? In what all ways do you help companies in their
transition to a sustainable platform?
MC: nova-Institute considers itself as a science-based consultancy. We are not developing technologies ourselves, but support the smart transformation of the industry with in depth market and competition information, technology scouting, life cycle and social impact
assessments, techno-economic evaluation, policy framework analysis and communication.
CID: As you would agree the needs of developing countries like India for such transition to sustainability would be different, taking into account the current status of technologies in the country, the available biomass in such countries as well as the financial resources.
What renewable carbon strategy would you recommend for developing countries with resource constraints? Would you consider developing such technologies in some collaboration in countries like India?
MC: As mentioned before, there is no one-fits all solution. Every region would need their own strategy towards sustainability, towards deploying renewable energy and implementing a carbon management. Countries should identify for themselves which options are available to them and then identify the most cost-effective solutions to go for.
For developing countries with resource constraints, the system transformation should be supported from the industrial countries, e.g. through development aid, technological expertise, etc. We as nova-Institute have been working in projects with and for developing
countries in the past and in the now, and would of course also join in collaborations in the future.
CID: A personal question. You started as a physicist/ qualified in physics. What motivations drove you to embrace sustainability and create a research institute for developing renewable carbon technologies & strategies.
MC: Personally, I always had my values and goals, and early on realised and followed the signals of the market and our customers. We always stayed open for better solutions and focused on what is truly effective and not only efficient, meaning that we often discussed
with clients not only how to improve their existing settings, but also whether there are entirely different, but more promising alternatives out there. Finally, it is very important to cultivate your networks, stay in touch and bring people together. That’s how Nova got
to where we are today.
