Chemical manufacturing subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, SABIC, has announced a partnership with Europe's largest retail store operator to bag carrots with SABIC's certified circular polyethylene (PE).

Some background:

The International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) system certifies that companies or products are meeting sustainability standards. The ISCC has certified that SABIC's Trucircle line of polymers meets those standards. Now, SABIC can offer its customers the ability to reach their sustainability goals and increase their brand value.

So what are the standards?

The certification uses a mass balance approach—meaning that for each ton of renewable/circular feedstock fed into the process, one ton of the output materials can be classified as renewable/circular. So, while the actual plastic used to bag the carrots could be 99% fossil-fuel-based, SABIC can only sell as much renewable/circular plastic as they source sustainably.

Read the press release here.

Swiss chemicals and biotechnology company, Lonza, has announced a $94 million investment to expand its global capsule manufacturing capacity.

Background on Lonza:

Lonza has two main business segments: Lonza Pharma, Biotech & Nutrition (LPBN), and Lonza Specialty Ingredients (LSI). The former manufactures capsules and active pharmaceutical ingredients and the latter produces biocides and other specialty chemicals for various industries.

So what's going on?

Lonza produces "gelatin, vegetarian, and specialty polymer" capsules for itself and others in the pharmaceutical and supplements industry. The global empty capsules market is expected to double from 2017 to 2025, and Lonza wants a piece of those profits. The plant expansions will allow them to produce 15% more capsules per year.

Read the press release here.

Swedish petroleum and biofuels company, Preem, has announced that it has begun the conversion of its refinery in Lysekil, Sweden into a biorefinery.

Some context:

About 2 months ago, Preem announced that it would be canceling its plans to build a long-awaited residue hydrocracking plant at this refinery. Citing economic reasons, the company said that the impact of COVID-19 made the residue oil conversion complex no longer viable.

So what are the plans now?

The refinery at Lysekil is now going to be rebuilt "to become Scandinavia’s largest producer of renewable fuels.". But it's going to take some time—the company hopes to submit an environmental permit by the end of the year, investment plans are due next summer, and then it has to actually be retrofitted. Preem expects the rebuilt facility to be operational by no later than 2024.

Read the press release here.