Renewable carbon cuts chemical footprints 80%+ in LCAs, RCI says

RCI cites five peer-reviewed LCAs, including PEF bottles and pyrolysis recycling, with results sensitive to energy and boundaries.

Peer-reviewed life cycle assessments show that renewable carbon-based chemicals and materials can deliver substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions compared with fossil-based alternatives, with some pathways cutting carbon footprints by more than 80%, according to a Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI) report.

The report compiles five peer-reviewed life cycle assessment (LCA) case studies evaluating renewable carbon feedstocks, including bio-based, CO₂-based, and recycled carbon sources.

Across the assessed materials, fossil-based production remained the dominant driver of lifecycle emissions, reinforcing the role of defossilisation in reducing industrial carbon intensity.

One case study found that bio-based 1,3-propanediol (bio-PDO), produced from corn dextrose, generated a climate change impact of 0.71 kg CO₂ equivalent per kg of product, compared with 5.12 kg CO₂ equivalent for fossil-based butanediol.

This represented an emissions reduction of about 86% on a cradle-to-gate basis, primarily driven by biogenic carbon uptake during feedstock cultivation.

Another assessment showed that polyethylene furanoate (PEF) bottles produced using renewable feedstocks demonstrated significantly lower lifecycle emissions than conventional PET bottles, whilst remaining compatible with existing recycling systems.

The study also found that PEF’s higher gas-barrier performance enabled lighter packaging designs, reducing material use without compromising shelf life.

The report noted that chemical recycling technologies such as pyrolysis can also lower lifecycle emissions when recycled feedstocks displace virgin fossil inputs, although results varied depending on system boundaries, energy sources, and allocation methods used in each LCA.

RCI said the findings underscore the importance of rigorous, peer-reviewed lifecycle assessments in evaluating climate claims, noting that renewable carbon pathways can reduce emissions only when they displace fossil carbon rather than add new carbon flows into industrial systems.