Clean Industrial Deal: for Plastics Europe a specific plastics plan is needed

Plastics Europe strongly supports the EU’s competitiveness and decarbonisation agenda and welcomes the Clean Industrial Deal. It outlines very important and much-needed measures, including initiatives to lower energy costs, reduce red tape, and create the market demand necessary to incentivise circularity investments.

However, its members remain deeply concerned that the essential contribution of the European plastics sector to Europe’s industrial base continues to be overlooked. Moreover, the Clean Industrial Deal lacks the urgency needed to restore the competitiveness of EU plastics manufacturing and get its transition toward net zero and circularity back on track.

Virginia Janssens, Managing Director of Plastics Europe, said: “The EU is demonstrating the ambitious political leadership necessary to restore its competitiveness, but policymakers cannot afford to continually overlook the essential contribution plastics make to the EU economy, providing essential inputs to strategic EU sectors like automotive, net-zero technologies, healthcare, construction and defence, or the role they are playing in the transition of these industries. European plastics manufacturing is vital to the future of the EU’s industrial base and broader strategic autonomy. Without urgent action, Europe will become increasingly dependent on imports of plastic resins and finished goods from regions with often less stringent environmental standards.”

According to Plastics Europe, the complexity of the European plastics system and long investment cycles mean that investment decisions taken in the next two years will determine whether and how quickly it will be possible to meet the ambitions set out in the EU’s Green Deal and Plastics Europe roadmap to the plastics transition. The window of opportunity to address the competitive challenges facing the plastics industry and create a more favourable investment climate is rapidly closing.

Janssens added: “Europe has an opportunity to establish the world’s first circular and net zero plastics system. Therefore, we fully support the Clean Industrial Deal’s recognition that competitiveness and sustainability policies must be mutually reinforcing. Our industry cannot deliver on our net zero and circularity ambitions unless we are competitive enough to invest. Sadly, there is a real danger that the competitiveness benefits the Clean Industrial Deal delivers will be realised far too late. Time is not on our side.”

In 2022, SystemIQ’s independent “ReShaping Plastics” report on “Pathways to Circular, Climate Neutral Plastics System in Europe” highlighted the need for policymakers, plastics manufacturers and the downstream value chain to urgently deepen collaboration and activate all up- and down-stream levers.

Janssens continued: “The critical importance, size and complex nature of the European plastics system requires a tailored policy response.  We call on the Commission to use its convening power to develop an Action Plan on the future of the European plastics sector, bringing together EU institutions, Member States and all relevant partners in the plastics ecosystem. Additionally, we call for the Commission to ensure that plastics are considered in all sectoral initiatives, innovation funding, and measures to ensure EU supplies of key materials.”

The single market is Europe’s greatest economic asset, and Plastics Europe therefore welcomes measures, such as the Circular Economy Act, that will help to build a single market for waste, recycled and bio-based materials, and low-carbon plastics. However, promoting the single market is not enough, it also needs to be protected. Therefore, the European association urges the Commission to act to ensure the ongoing fragmentation of the single market does not undermine the positive measures outlined in its roadmap. It also supports the call made by 400 business leaders some days ago in Antwerp for Heads of State and Government to take immediate action to implement the Clean Industrial Deal at the national level.