Forging
Circularity
Circular thinking guides our approach to innovation as we respond to a growing demand for sustainability. We quantify our environmental impact throughout the life cycle of our products, from raw material extraction to end of life. Leading the way for the industry, we have achieved circularity at scale with our Continua™ SCM offering.
Circular thinking guides our approach to innovation as we respond to a growing demand for sustainability. We quantify our environmental impact throughout the life cycle of our products, from raw material extraction to end of life. Leading the way for the industry, we have achieved circularity at scale with our Continua™ SCM offering.
From creation to Continua™ SCM –
giving carbon black a new life
Continua™ SCM provides a sustainable solution at scale for our customers.
Through this, we enable circularity at scale by providing sustainable solutions for tires, mechanical rubber goods, plastics and coatings segments. This Sustainable Carbonaceous Material (SCM) gives our customers performance-enhancing qualities and enhanced sustainability.
The Continua™ SCM offering is the result of our commitment to sustainable product development.
Our Continua™ SCM offering is the outcome of our research and development process, marking a milestone in our sustainability journey.
We collaborate to Share the Strength of our Continua™ SCM, collaborate with our stakeholders to further explore the possibilities of this new class of materials.
End-of-life tires are processed into materials with real value
In 2021, we launched the Continua™ brand of Sustainable Carbonaceous Materials (SCM), products that help us drive industry leading circularity at scale. Not only does it increase the recyclability of products such as tires, Continua™ SCM offsets 0.73 tonnes of CO2 for every tonne produced. Working closely with our partner, Circtec, this bespoke solution is empowering customers to reduce their emissions by providing sustainable alternatives to traditional materials – all while shrinking our environmental footprint
Circtec has started the construction of their new facility in The Netherlands, set to be the most efficient and sustainable pyrolysis plant in Europe. The facility will be the largest single source of SCMs and renewable fuels using of end-of-life tires. A comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) – conducted according to ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards – demonstrates that at full capacity, 73,000 tonnes of Continua™ SCM it would eliminate 228,000 tonnes of direct and indirect CO2 emissions annually when compared to the conventional carbon black process.
How we make carbon black circular
Informed by insights from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, we aim to design out waste and pollution and keep materials in use for longer.
We measure our progress against these guiding principles.
Keeping products in use for longer
Our carbon black creates added value for customers and their consumers, transferring many sustainable properties to countless products:
- Increased durability and strength
- Thermal insulation
- Electrical conductivity
- Improved UV protection
- Lower rolling resistance
Circularity in our production of carbon black
We conduct regular LCAs to quantify our circularity efforts. Through this approach, we evaluate our environmental impacts from raw material extraction to product end-of-life.
Circularity leads our daily operations through:
Starting life from waste
Our carbon black product has always aligned with circular principles. It starts life from a low-value, carbon-rich oil residue with limited usage, becoming carbon black with real value. Giving someone else’s waste a second life drives our research and development efforts as we work to extend the lifespan of our product.
Watch our video to learn more about Continua™ SCM.
Watch our video to see how carbon black enables our everyday lives
