Foreword

This study builds upon the general considerations from the OECD report ‘Considerations and criteria of sustainable plastics from a chemicals perspective’ published in 2018. It also builds on sector specific considerations from four case studies on insulation, flooring, biscuit wrappers, and detergent bottles.

The insights gathered in these reports emanated from literature reviews, interviews and workshops with chemists and suppliers, and were reviewed by OECD country delegates and stakeholders. Experts nominated via the OECD’s Chemicals and Biotechnology Committee (CBC) and the Environmental Policy Committee’s Working Party on Resource Productivity and Waste (WPRPW) provided valuable input during an online workshop held on the 9th and 10th of March 2021. The workshop was supported by voluntary contributions from Japan and the United Kingdom. The development of this report and the case studies has been supported by voluntary contributions from Japan and Switzerland.

A team of industrial design engineers specialised in design for a circular economy from the company Partners for Innovation consolidated the insights from these reports and the workshop to develop a draft document on which this report is based.

This report was then reviewed by experts nominated by the CBC and WPRPW, followed by a review by the Working Party for Risk Management (WPRM) and the Working Party on Resource Productivity and Waste (WPRPW). It is published under the responsibility of the CBC.