HOUSTON — August 4, 2021 — Orion Engineered Carbons S.A., a global supplier of specialty and high performance carbon black, today published its 2020 Sustainability Report, showcasing the company’s latest work with science-based groups with the goal to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in the production of carbon black — an essential ingredient in tires, coatings, film, pipes, wire, cable and numerous other everyday products.
“We recognize the urgency to act on climate change and that successfully charting a path to a more sustainable world will require collaboration across the value chain and scientific community,” said Corning F. Painter, CEO at Orion.
“Our 2020 Sustainability Report details our long-term strategy and progress we have made across a wide range of sustainability initiatives, including partnering in several research projects aligned with three key secular trends foundational to our sustainability strategy: decarbonization, circularity and electrification,” Painter added.
Orion engineers are working with the Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE) to develop and scale process technology to make renewable oil from forest-derived feedstock, replacing fossil-based fuels in the production of carbon black. The company is also the only carbon black producer that is part of the EU-funded BlackCycle initiative, aimed at enabling a circular economy of tires by developing process technology to produce new tires, including recycled carbon black, from discarded tires.
Another project involves partnering with the European Commission’s HiQ-CARB Consortium to improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries by using Orion’s acetylene black, a highly conductive carbon black with significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions than traditional carbon blacks .
“We are conscious that sustainability is not just about climate change,” Painter said. “Our report also highlights how we address social issues and governance practices.”
Orion’s participation in community support programs throughout the world included donations of much-needed equipment and supplies for the fight against the global COVID-19 pandemic over the past year.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation for all the frontline workers in the fight against the pandemic,” Painter said. “We are pleased to be a contributing member at our locations through our charitable donations, such as personal protective equipment. I am also grateful to our employees for their resilience and team work to enable us to succeed during the challenging times we faced in 2020.”
Posted August 4, 2021
Source: Orion Engineered Carbons
