Evonik (Essen, Germany) has published life cycle assessment (LCA) information for its Vestamid fiber-reinforced polyamide and Trogamid transparent polyamide products within its High Performance Polymers Plastics database. This aims to demonstrate the business line’s commitment to transparency and accountability to customers regarding the circularity and sustainability of its products and services. At the moment, there is LCA data published for more than 100 products, and data expected for more products in the future.

“Transparency is key for making sustainable decisions, and we want to pass this data on to our current and prospective customers, who can use it to satisfy their own and their customers’ sustainability ambitions,” says Dominic Stoerkle, head of Evonik’s High Performance Polymers’ long chain polyamides product line.

An LCA is a systemic method for evaluating the environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product's life, from raw materials through materials processing towards use and disposal.

Evonik’s Vestamid line of polyamide products have customizable properties, partly due to its incorporation of materials such as glass fibers, impact modifiers or adhesion promoters. Vestamid is known for its optimal resistance to heat, impact, water and solvents. The company’s Trogamid line of transparent polyamides expands the range of possible applications to areas like optical equipment and food industry containers.

According to the company, customers of Vestamid and Trogamid materials can benefit from the fact-driven metrics generated by LCAs, including water and land use, as well as carbon emissions. These metrics are a boon for customers looking to build and document a value chain that meets their own sustainability goals.

“At Evonik, contributing to a more sustainable future is part of the way we operate. We have a goal to generate more than 50% of our sales by 2030 from our ‘next-generation solutions.’ These are products and solutions with a positive sustainability profile that is above the market reference level,” says Florian Hermes, director of sustainable business solutions at Evonik’s High Performance Polymers business line.

“When it comes to sustainability, transparency and customer accountability are critical. For instance, LCA data shows our Vestamid eCO LX9039 BBM100 has a carbon footprint of 2.7 kilogram CO₂eq/kilogram product and blue water consumption of 27 kilograms. Designed for applications such as toothbrush filaments, manufacturers using our polyamide 12 in production now also have data to show their customers the benefits of using a material that is made with renewable energy and 100% bio-based carbon in a mass-balanced approach,” says Hermes.

In a move for additional transparency, the LCA methodology used by the High Performance Polymers business line has been certified by TÜV Rheinland Energy & Environment GmbH (Cologne, Germany), a company specializing in the technical testing of systems and products in accordance with international systems since 2021.