Clariant, OMV Announce Sustainability Collaboration

Clariant, a sustainability-focused specialty chemical company, and petrochemical company OMV are collaborating to supply ethylene with a lower carbon footprint in response to increasing consumer demand for more sustainable options. 

 

With a particular focus on Europe, the partnership will help both companies meet their sustainability targets and deliver on their customers' carbon reduction strategies, said Clariant in a press statement.

 

For Clariant, the collaboration marks another step in their effort to provide low-carbon footprint ethoxylates. Since 2022, Clariant has been offering segregated bio-based ethoxylates through Clariant India Glycols Specialty Company Ltd. (CISC).

 

Since 2021, OMV has been focusing on renewable and circular production of chemicals and chemical feedstock at its refinery in Burghausen, Germany, and recently at its refinery in Schwechat, Austria. OMV has been steadily increasing the production capacities of sustainable products, achieving a capacity of 200,000 metric tons. The company aims to gradually switch over to low-carbon businesses, achieving net zero by 2050.

 

OMV’s integrated business model joins up parts of the value chain, providing more flexible and reliable supply from bio-based to chemical recycling-derived sources. This approach reduces CO₂ emissions and offers proof of real progress through ISCC PLUS certification of the mass balance approach.

 

Clariant and OMV plan to explore and develop new strategies to meet sustainability targets in the ethylene supply chain. As part of this cooperation, both companies will share their research findings, adopt a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology for unified approaches and define detailed CO₂ reduction roadmaps. This will include the joint analysis of collaboration potential for the ethanol-to-ethylene technology.

 

Clariant and OMV are members of the UN Global Compact, the world's largest corporate sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiative. The agreement between the two companies is expected to help Clariant meet its absolute emissions reductions for operations and supply chain activities, as outlined in its 2030 climate targets. 

 

Clariant’s targets, drafted in accordance with the Science Based Targets Initiative, aim to reduce Scope 1 and 2 absolute GHG emissions by 40% and Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 14%, between 2019 and 2030.

 

OMV's target is a 30% reduction of absolute GHG emissions in Scope 1 and 2, and a 20% reduction in Scope 3 by 2030 in comparison to 2019. 

 

Beyond the sustainability targets, this agreement will facilitate cooperation toward meeting the CO₂ reduction roadmaps of industry stakeholders throughout Europe.