Pilot audit in Spain tests a new framework for checking product carbon-footprint accounting, which the company has also applied to a renewable-feedstock chemical.
Moeve Chemicals sas taken the lead as the first company to undergo an audit under a latest ISCC Carbon Footprint Certification (CFC) framework, using its phenol plant in Palos de la Frontera, Spain, to test the system in an running chemical facility, the company declared on Oct. 9.
The pilot audit includes phenol, acetone, alpha-methylstyrene and cumene manufactures at the facility. Developed by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) organisation, with input from Moeve Chemicals and Meo Carbon Solutions, the framework is supposed to offer an independent technique for assessing and accounting for product carbon footprints when emissions-reduction techniques, which including use of biomethane, are applied in production.
Moeve Chemicals contributed technical and industrial experience from its proprietary Low Carbon methodology, which monitors and allocates renewable energy sourcing across its production operations. The strategy has been independently verified by AENOR, the Spanish Association for Standardization and Certification.
The latest framework leverages existing certification practices for sustainable chemical supply chains. As Chemical Processing explained in its article “Beyond Greenwashing: How to Get Certified Sustainable,” ISCC PLUS makes use third-party audits and mass-balance accounting to monitor sustainable feedstocks via complex chemical manufacturing systems. The latest CFC framework addresses a related but distinct problem: how product carbon-footprint assessments are calculated and tested when producers use specified mitigation techniques.
Moeve has also become the first to apply the latest ISCC CFC framework to a renewable-feedstock chemical product. The certification supports the product carbon footprint of NextLab R100, a linear alkylbenzene produced at the company’s Puente Mayorga site in Spain using ISCC PLUS-certified renewable feedstocks under a mass-balance method and renewable electricity.
In July, Moeve Chemicals completed AENOR verification across its worldwide production network, allowing its sites to produce and deliver products under the company’s low-carbon methodology. The portfolio consists of low-carbon options used in detergent manufacturing, and a lower-carbon option for phenol and its derivatives utilized in resins, adhesives, car and construction applications.
Other chemical manufacturers have also used ISCC PLUS certification to validate feedstock sourcing and mass-balance systems. For example, Arkema received ISCC PLUS certification for its acrylic monomer production sites in France, China and the United States, allowing mass-balance-based deliver of bio-attributed monomers across those facilities. BASF and Synthomer have also introduced ISCC PLUS-certified materials, applying mass-balance methods and renewable energy to products for the hygiene market.
Moeve Chemicals stated the CFC framework should support move product carbon-footprint accounting beyond individual company methodologies towards a more constant approach for chemical manufacturers and customers. For producers, independent verification can support substantiate emissions claims; customers can use the resulting information to evaluate the carbon footprints of materials purchased for their own products.
