15 October 2024

On 10 October 2024, we hosted our 9th ISCC Technical Stakeholder Meeting – Circular Economy and Bioeconomy with more than 245 participants joining us online from around the globe. Thanks to all participants and speakers for their continued support and valuable contributions! 

The meeting began with a warm welcome from Co-chair Jason Pierce, Senior Technical Leader, Circular Economy & LCA at Eastman. Following this, Dr Jan Henke, Director at ISCC, presented the latest updates on ISCC PLUS. He was pleased to report that the number of ISCC PLUS certificates continues to grow each year, with over 4,800 valid certificates as of October 2024. He also introduced the upcoming Mass Balance Guidance Document, as well as the Guidance Document for Ocean-bound Plastic. Further updates included the development of social criteria in the ISCC PLUS scheme, the new EUDR add-on, ISCC Carbon Footprint Certification and an overview of the development of the ISCC Licensing Scheme

The next part of the meeting focused on the latest regulatory developments. Malgorzata Golebiewska, Team Leader of Environmental Footprint & Green Claims at the European Commission, started with the Green Claims Directive. The directive is based on findings of the 2020 Inventory on Sustainability Claims which revealed that nearly half of environmental claims today provide vague, misleading or unfounded environmental information and 40% are unsubstantiated. The directive aims to ensure science-based substantiation of environmental claims and reinforcing trust in existing labelling schemes. The next step will be a trilogue meeting to discuss, for instance, substantiation rules and treatment of labelling schemes. The Green Claims Directive is expected to be adopted by the European Parliament and Council in 2025. 

Julia Roettgerding, Policy Officer DG ENV at the European Commission, presented the new rules for the calculation of recycled plastic content in the context of the Single-Use Plastics (SUP) Directive. She said that we are in a plastic crisis, with global plastic waste expected to triple by 2060 (compared to 2019), while recycling rates grow at a much lower pace. The SUP Directive includes the first mandatory recycling content targets, such as the requirement for 30% recycled content in all SUP beverage bottles by 2030. The Commission is now developing a two-step approach for the SUP Implementing Decision. First, a methodology to cover mechanically recycled PET and secondly, an amendment to account recycled content from other technologies, including chemical recycling attributed via mass balance accounting. Julia Roettgerding mentioned that mass balance rules will be described in the Implementing Decision. She also outlined different mass balance attribution options, especially for the fuel-use excluded option, while emphasising important elements such as chemical traceability and certification or verification. 

Shifting focus to the U.S., Adam Peer, Senior Director, Packaging & Consumer Products Markets at the American Chemistry Council, gave an update on U.S. regulatory developments. He addressed advanced recycling, discussing its potential inclusion in upcoming legislation, and emphasised the importance of recognising certification systems such as ISCC in the upcoming legislation. Adam Peer noted that while some policies exist at the federal level, such as the “Accelerating a Circular Economy for Plastics and Recycling Innovation Act,” regulations can differ across states. 

After a refreshment break, Dr Stefan Gärtner, Senior Manager at Meo Carbon Solutions, introduced the new ISCC Carbon Footprint Certification (CFC) which enables the certification of product carbon footprints (PCF) for various products and value chains. The ISCC CFC module is applicable as a stand-alone certification or as a supplement to ISCC PLUS. Current approaches include carbon capture and storage, carbon capture and utilisation, silicon metal production with reduced PCF and downstream entities handling CFC material. Click here for more information.   

Lastly, Damla Ozcan, Global Consumer Marketing Director & Thomas Gaertner, Group Leader R&D Brush Heads at Philips, presented Philips’ ISCC PLUS certified plastic products that bear the ISCC on-product logo. They highlighted how the use of bio-attributed material has significantly improved the brand perception of Sonicare in a positive way. 

We wrapped up the event by welcoming our newly elected Co-chairs Esther Garcia (Mondelez International) and Jason Pierce (Eastman). Thank you for your commitment — we look forward to your contributions! 

Once again, a big thank you to all participants and speakers for their valuable discussions and active participation! We are excited to see you at our next meeting. 

Presentations from the meeting are available on our website.