Green Agenda

There is increasing pressure and urgency to make products and processes more sustainable. Embracing sustainability is no longer a choice – it is an imperative responsibility that all organisations must fulfil.

This reality is reflected in the array of regulations and reporting frameworks that are forcing companies of all sizes to reflect on their operations to identify ways of reducing emissions and improving sustainability.

Your sustainable transition

Whether you are a multinational corporate within a high-value supply chain, or a new advanced materials start-up, CEAMS can support your sustainable materials transition to:

Produce more efficient products
Increase consumer and investor confidence
Reduce carbon tax and meet corporate emissions targets
Stay ahead of industry regulations

Key sustainability regulation, legislation and frameworks

Financial Reporting

Many companies have to report on their sustainability impact as part of their financial reporting process. In some industries, this is only mandatory for companies of a certain size (E.G. over 500 employees), whilst in other industries – the financial industry; agriculture, food and forest products industry; energy industry; materials and buildings industry; and transportation industry – it is mandatory for companies of all sizes.

Below are the two predominant reporting frameworks that companies comply with as part of their reporting:

In June 2023 the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) issued their inaugural sustainability disclosure standards, marking a new era of sustainability related disclosures in capital markets worldwide. The Standards not only help to improve trust and confidence in company disclosures on sustainability – informing investment decisions – but also create a common language for disclosing the effect of climate-related risks and opportunities.
On January 5 2023, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) [EU] came into force. This new directive modernises and strengthens the rules concerning the social and environmental information that companies have to report. These rules ensure investors and other stakeholders have access to the information they need to assess the impact of companies on the environment, and the financial risks and opportunities that arise from sustainability issues.

Supply chain

There are several pieces of regulation and legislation that impact all companies that work with materials and within supply chains. These include a UK piece of legislation called the Environment Act 2021, and a global policy approach called Extended Producer Responsibility:

The Environment Act 2021 is a policy that transposes five internationally recognised environmental principles into UK legislation. In short, it forces all companies to integrate environmental considerations into the core of their decision-making and operational processes or risk legal complications.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a global policy approach in which a producer’s responsibility for a product is extended to the post-consumer stage of a product’s life cycle. It seeks to incentivise producers to take into account environmental considerations when designing their products.

General Manufacturing

In recent years several pieces of UK policy have been launched that impact UK manufacturers. These include two government strategies that recognise the importance of investing into advanced materials innovations and a list of energy-efficient plant and machinery for manufacturers and procurers,

The Advanced Manufacturing Plan was launched in 2023 as an outcome of the UK Government’s ambition to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a manufacturing business. It includes specific support for investment into advanced materials innovation, and names ‘Atom Valley’ - the home of CEAMS – as a world class advanced materials cluster.

The Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, which was launched in 2021 as part of the UK Government’s drive to Net-Zero, covers the full range of UK industry sectors: metals and minerals, chemicals, food and drink, paper and pulp, ceramics, glass, oil refineries and less energy-intensive manufacturing. The strategy includes explicit support for those accelerating low-carbon technologies – which includes sustainable materials.

The Energy Technology List (ETL) is a UK government list of energy efficient plant and machinery. In order for a product to be listed, it must meet the ETL’s robust energy saving criteria - typically set at the top 25% of products in the market. Crucially, manufactures can apply to add their product to the list if they believe it meets the criteria.

Construction

Around 40% of UK carbon emissions are linked to the built environment, with construction activity accounting for around 50m tonnes of CO2 emissions. Much of these emissions are related to the production of materials such as steel and cement. As a result, the industry faces particular scrutiny, leading to both legislative and regulatory pressures to reduce its carbon footprint. These include:

In 2019, the UK government introduced a target for achieving at least a 100% reduction of GHG emissions (compared to 1990) by 2050. In pursuit of this target, the Government has released its Net Zero Strategy. The strategy includes recommendations and requirements for the construction industry to reduce its emissions, including specific guidance on materials.
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out the UK Government’s planning policies for England and how they should be applied. This includes requirements of using sustainable or recycled materials within development projects where appropriate.
BREEAM are third-party certified standards that aim to improve asset performance at every stage, from design through construction, to use and refurbishment. They include specific guidance on circularity, whole life performance, and emissions – all of which relate to material usage.

Textiles/Chemicals

The textiles and chemicals industries also face pressure to improve the sustainability of their material usage throughout its lifecycle:

Best Available Techniques (BAT) are technologies approved by legislators or regulators for meeting output standards for a particular process, such as pollutant abatement. Initially an EU law, the UK is currently drawing up plans to establish its own BATs. The first 4 industry sectors to establish BAT consideration groups include the textiles industry and waste gas treatment in the chemicals sector.

NB: This is not an exhaustive list, rather a selection of key regulations and pieces of legislation that demonstrates the scale of pressure on companies to identify innovative ways of reducing their emissions and future-proofing their supply chains.