Chemical Supply Chain Embraces Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Goals

Environmental Leader - The chemical industry approves of Wal-Mart’s sustainability goal to eliminate 20 million tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the global supply chain by the end of 2015, despite the possibility of additional costs, reports ICIS.com...

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) agrees, and says its own members have already implemented initiatives to reduce emissions and energy use from their products and operations, pledging to lower GHG intensity by 18 percent by 2012, from a base year of 1990, according to ISIS.com. So far the industry has exceeded its commitment, reducing carbon intensity by 36 percent...However, cost is the biggest prohibitive component, say chemical suppliers. This means the industry has to develop low-cost bio-based chemical intermediates that can be drop-in replacements for existing petrochemical counterparts.