UPM Biochemicals and Selenis, a subsidiary of the IMG Group that produces speciality polyester resins for a range of applications, has announced a partnership today that will help the packaging industry reduce its carbon footprint and redefine the sustainability goals of its customers.
Sustainability partnership
The goal of the strategic partnership is to produce sustainable polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) resin that will accelerate the introduction of renewable, sustainable forest-sourced materials into plastic applications and reduce fossil resource dependency. PETG is a highly transparent, FDA approved material used in a large variety of applications including cosmetics and personal care packaging, heat shrink sleeves, and durable goods, such as bulk dispenser.
UPM will supply Selenis with its new sustainable bio mono-ethylene glycol (Bio-MEG), called UPM BioPura, to make partial BioPETG. UPM BioPura is produced from sustainably sourced, certified hardwood obtained from forests in the regions around Leuna in Germany, where the company is building an industry scale biorefinery converting woody biomass into next generation biochemicals.
Michael Duetsch, Vice President Biochemicals at UPM, said: “We are delighted to partner with Selenis. Selenis pursues a strategy to continuously reduce the carbon footprint of its products – partnerships like ours are at the heart of a greener, more sustainable chemistry.
“We will work with Selenis to deliver outstanding solutions for their customers, enabling them to innovate towards sustainable packaging solutions with a significantly reduced greenhouse gas footprint. As the packaging industry is truly striving for a more environmentally friendly future, incorporating bio-based materials like UPM BioPura alongside an ever-increasing share of recycled materials will be an essential part.”
Selenis says focuses its product innovation on developing products that are fully recyclable in the PET stream and has technology that upcycles plastic waste into new polymers, replacing fossil-fuel feedstocks with recycled polyester raw material. Selenis claims its Converters and brand owners can now customize their products to reduce their carbon footprint
“We centre our innovation efforts in markets where the pressure for recyclable solutions is higher because the life of the product is shorter, meaning end of life solutions are more critical. The packaging and the cosmetics industries are two examples where brand owners prioritize circularity,” explained Marta Matos Gil, Chief Sustainability Officer at Selenis.
“As we take steps towards becoming a regenerative company, developing products that meet sustainable standards in recyclability, eco-resource efficiency and eco-friendly compositions to improve their circularity is vital. Our new partnership with UPM is illustrative of how we are jointly working across the value chain to create tangible solutions that support the advancement of a circular economy and considerably reduce plastic waste.”