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Land and biomass use for the sustainable production of plastics

Braskem started producing its I'm greenT bio-based plastics in 2010. Over the years, thanks to forward thinking brands and responsible consumers who opt for more sustainable products, we have managed to expand our sales globally. We use responsibly sourced #sugarcane, but there are always those who question how much this alternative solution to #fossil plastic can grow without competing with the food supply chain. In this paper written by our technical advocacy team MARTIN CLEMESHA and YUKI KABE we show that bio-based plastics can be sustainably produced from primary sources of biomass, such as sugarcane, if:

  • there is land available for sustainable agricultural expansion and no food shortage,
  • agriculture does not expand onto high biodiversity biomes,
  • feedstock is produced alongside food or feed, and follows the EU's cascading principle for biomass uses,
  • the overall environmental footprint from farm to product is significantly reduced compared to the fossil counterpart (proven by certified life cycle assessments).

We hope you find this introduction to the topic useful. Enjoy the reading!

 

Click here to access the full document