Sustainable polymers: reduced environmental impact, renewable raw materials and catalysis

With an annual worldwide production of almost 300 million tons, plastics are the major output of the chemical industry and an indispensable component of modern societies. Of course, plastics are necessary for a multitude of applications that allow us to maintain and further increase our lifestyle. It is also needless to mention that plastics can contribute to a sustainable development in applications ranging from insulation to replacements of other materials (i.e., metals). Nevertheless, plastics also bring about a large number of environmental hazards, including waste accumulation in the oceans, significant contributions to greenhouse emissions, and many others. Moreover, petroleum resources are quickly depleting, which will increase prices and reduce availability. Of course, coal and other fossil reserves can be exploited for some more decades, but the question remains if the investment in such unsustainable technology (i.e., fracking or exploitation of oil sands) is anything but very, very short-sighted. Already today, and even more so in the future, the use of renewable feedstocks, with an annual production of ∼10¹¹ tons p.a., for the manufacture of our required plastics is a profitable as well as far more sustainable approach. Thus, if we want to maintain our current lifestyle – always having the question in mind if this is at all desirable – and want to allow our children (and their children's children!) to do so, which is the true definition of sustainability, we certainly have to dramatically rethink the use of plastics.

Having this in mind, this special issue clearly demonstrates the great versatility of renewable feedstocks for the preparation of more sustainable polymers. The only limitation concerning the range of possible polymers and their corresponding properties and applications seems to be the imagination of the researchers working on this topic. With ongoing research in this direction, I feel confident that we, the scientists working on the materials use of renewable feedstocks, can contribute to tackle one of the most substantial challenges of our near future: the depletion of fossil reserves and the accompanied necessary changes of the chemical industry.

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