Fair Plastics: Advancing Industrial Decarbonization through Equitable Social Innovations

Industrial decarbonization is an absolute and immediate requirement in the context of global climate change. Producing the basic materials that constitute the infrastructure of our modern societies (e.g. steel, cement, plastics) is the most significant source of industrial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, compared to areas such as electricity generation and ground transportation, where clear technological solutions for decarbonization have emerged, decarbonizing industry may follow any number of potential pathways. The Fair Plastics workshop brought together a group of experts and stakeholders from industry, government, research organizations, and environmental and community groups to discuss each group’s views of the significant obstacles and potential pathways of decarbonizing ethylene production. Industry representatives focused on technical pathways to ethylene decarbonization. While requesting infrastructure for electricity, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide, they emphasized the need for regulatory standards, carbon pricing, and government intervention to support the transition to decarbonization. Government and academic researchers assessed the existing pathways and highlighted carbon contributors other than ethylene, such as the steel and cement industries. The group also highlighted the economic challenges of the entire plastics lifecycle, noting the difficulty in reducing reliance on low-cost natural gas and the lack of replacement materials for ethylene-derived products. Environmental and community groups also took a lifecycle perspective and stressed the importance of addressing not only ethylene production, but also upstream and downstream activities to mitigate environmental and health impacts. They advocated for source reduction and greater industry accountability to ensure environmental justice for communities affected by petrochemical pollution. The report concludes that achieving ethylene decarbonization requires coordinated efforts across technical, social, and policy dimensions, with a focus on sustainability, innovation, and equity for affected communities.