Experts from leading global companies—including Unilever and BASF—are joining academics, trade associations, research institutes, and policymakers under a new initiative launched by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) to reduce the environmental impact of polymers in liquid formulations (PLFs).

PLFs are essential components in products such as paints, coatings, water treatment chemicals, cosmetics, and household cleaning products. Valued at $125 billion annually, nearly all of the 36 million tonnes of PLFs used each year are currently unrecovered and unrecycled. The Sustainable PLFs 2040 initiative aims to revolutionize the way these chemicals are made, used, and disposed of by developing biodegradable alternatives and circular economy infrastructure.

Anju Massey-Brooker

“We encounter PLFs every single day, but in terms of research and development they are the ‘forgotten’ group of polymers,” said Professor Anju Massey-Brooker of the RSC. “There is an urgent need to make them more sustainable by developing biodegradable alternatives and infrastructure to stop the waste of these valuable chemicals, which in many cases, go directly down the plughole.”

The Sustainable PLFs 2040 initiative builds on work that began in 2017, including the creation of a Sustainable PLFs Task Force in 2021 and the publication of a dedicated roadmap. Central to the roadmap are two missions: developing and scaling biodegradable PLFs by 2030 and advancing circular economy infrastructure for PLFs by 2030.

A foresight and coordination group will oversee delivery of the roadmap, ensuring collaboration across sectors and fostering inclusive, coordinated actions. Members of the group include Professor Massey-Brooker (RSC), Professor Andreas Künkel and Dr. Martin Klatt (BASF), Dr. Paul Jenkins (Unilever), Professor Gill Reid (University of Southampton), Professor Matthew Davidson (University of Bath), Dr. Jen Vanderhoven (BBIA), and Dr. Damian Kelly (Croda).

Gill Reid

“This is a truly exciting area for innovation,” said Professor Reid. “The emphasis on developing sustainability assessment and reporting tools that are accessible to all on a pre-competitive basis is particularly promising, as it will empower industry-wide progress and accelerate the transition to a more sustainable future by 2040.”

Damian Kelly

Dr. Kelly added, “Polymers for liquid formulations represent a critically important class of chemical products, but historically they have been developed with little attention to how they are produced or what happens to them after use. This initiative brings together the supply chain to scale and commercialize novel polymers with improved environmental credentials.”

For more information, visit the Sustainable PLFs 2040 initiative page.