LyondellBasell stays the course on sustainability despite market shifts

Despite recent market headwinds, LyondellBasell Industries is holding firm to its three-pillar sustainability strategy.

"Our strategy hasn't changed," said Yvonne van der Laan, executive vice president of circular and low carbon solutions, during an Oct. 8 press event at K 2025. "We're following the same three pillars.

That strategy, she said, focuses on addressing three global challenges: ending plastic waste, taking climate action and supporting a thriving society.

"We've established partnerships and engaged with consumer brand owners who are also staying committed to their sustainability goals," van der Laan said. "Higher prices [for sustainable materials] are a short-term reality. We know how to make high-quality chemically recycled [post-consumer] materials that brand owners can trust.

At K 2025, Houston-based LyondellBasell is showcasing efforts to grow its core businesses and expand its circular and low-carbon solutions portfolio. Key markets include packaging, health care, automotive and modern living, with solutions ranging from food-contact materials to medical-grade polymers and EV-specific offerings.

In Wesseling, Germany, the company is building a chemical recycling plant with annual processing capacity of 50,000 metric tons (110 million pounds). The facility will use LyondellBasell's proprietary MoReTec technology and is expected to start up in 2026. Construction began in September 2024.

Market dynamics have also led LyondellBasell to restructure parts of its global asset base. In June, the firm announced that it was negotiating to sell four European production sites — in Berre, France; Münchsmünster, Germany; Carrington, England; and Tarragona, Spain — to German investment firm AEQUITA. The sites had a combined annual capacity of 2.1 billion pounds of polypropylene and 700 million pounds each of high and low density polyethylene, according to industry estimates.

As part of the proposed transaction, LyondellBasell would contribute just over $300 million to a new company formed by AEQUITA, while AEQUITA would provide approximately $11.5 million in cash. The deal also includes a potential earnout of up to $114 million for LyondellBasell.

AEQUITA would assumed about $170 million in pension, employee and environmental liabilities. LyondellBasell officials said closing or decarbonizing the four assets would have been more costly than divestiture.

CEO Peter Vanacker called the deal "a significant step in LYB's transformation to grow and upgrade our core," adding that Europe "remains a core market for LYB and one we will continue to participate in."

In September, the company announced that it was selling four U.S. resin powder plants — located in Allentown, Pa.; East Chicago, Ind.; China, Texas; and Grand Junction, Tenn. — to Columbia, Md.-based Niche Polymer LLC. Niche Polymer plans to consolidate the operations into a new entity called Specialty Powders LLC.

Amid the restructuring, LyondellBasell has continued to advance its sustainability goals.

In September, it announced a partnership with three Japanese companies — Futamura Chemical Co., Iwatani Corp. and Shiseido Co. — to develop bio-based film packaging. The collaboration includes packaging for Shiseido's Clé de Peau Beauté product line, using Circulen Renew, LyondellBasell's bio-based polypropylene.

Futamura is using the same Circulen Renew grades in its SusFi sustainable film range. Company officials said the grades can serve as drop-in solutions that require no processing modifications.

In October, LyondellBasell confirmed that three of its Texas resin plants — in La Porte, Matagorda and Victoria — have earned Operation Clean Sweep (OCS) Blue verification, the highest tier of the plastics industry's zero resin loss initiative. The firm produces HDPE, LDPE and LLDPE at the sites.

OCS was launched in 1991 by the Plastics Industry Association and is managed in partnership with the American Chemistry Council. Its mission is to ensure plastic resin is responsibly managed and kept out of the environment.

LyondellBasell is one of the world's largest petrochemical and resin producers. The company's Advanced Polymer Solutions unit is the largest plastics compounder in North America. In 2024, LyondellBasell reported sales of $40.3 billion.

source : Sustainable Plastics