Sustainability has become a defining priority in the rubber industry, reshaping how raw materials are sourced, processed, and integrated into technical compounds.
At Safic-Alcan, we are accelerating this transformation by developing sustainability-advantaged materials and ESG-driven solutions for rubber compounders.
Recently, during the AFICEP technical day dedicated to Novelties in Elastomers and Regulations, Safic-Alcan presented its ESG strategy and unveiled how sustainable raw materials can deliver meaningful performance without compromising technical specifications.
This article explores two main pillars:
- Safic-Alcan’s ESG strategy, focused on developing a sustainability-advantaged product portfolio.
- A comparative study of a fossil-based rubber compound versus a sustainability-advantaged alternative using bio-sourced and circular raw materials.
Safic-Alcan ESG Strategy: Strengthening Our Value-Chain Role
As a global distributor in the chemical industry, Safic-Alcan plays a strategic role as the durable link between principals and customers. This means anticipating regulatory shifts, supporting technological upgrades, and guiding manufacturers toward more sustainable solutions.
Our ESG strategy is built around the creation of a sustainability-advantaged portfolio, enabling us to:
- Reduce environmental impact
- Improve transparency and traceability
- Promote safe, responsible material choices
- Support downstream customers in eco-design and circularity
This first pillar directly contributes to broader ESG commitments and ensures our partners benefit from a responsible, future-proof product offering.
Materials and Manufacturing: Reducing Impact Across the Lifecycle
Building sustainable specialty chemicals begins with a full-lifecycle approach, starting with raw materials. Key levers include:
- Lowering CO₂ emissions and energy consumption during manufacturing
- Reducing water use and improving waste-management processes
- Choosing raw materials based on origin, carbon footprint, recyclability, availability, and safety
- Optimizing packaging and transportation to reduce overall impact
Sustainable raw materials can also create benefits in the final application: lighter end-products, lower VOC emissions, improved recyclability, and compatibility with new technologies such as renewable-energy components.
Three Criteria for Selecting Sustainable Raw Materials
A sustainable specialty ingredient must meet strict criteria at every stage of its lifecycle:
- Use of sustainable raw materials
Bio-sourced, circular, or recycled—always backed by certifications and compliance. - Product development
Safe materials that improve production efficiency and reduce VOC emissions. - End-of-life considerations
A responsible approach beyond manufacturing, supporting recyclability and circularity.
To address fossil-resource scarcity, Safic-Alcan embraces:
- Biomass-derived materials (vegetal, agricultural, marine, animal, forestry)
- Bio-circular materials (waste of biological origin, mechanical/chemical recycling)
Traceability is essential. Certifications such as ISCC+ ensure transparent biomass and bio-energy sourcing with two approaches:
- Physical Segregation – Materials remain physically separated.
- Mass Balance – Materials are mixed in production but accounted for separately.
Safic-Alcan aims to obtain ISCC+ certification in France.
Comparative Study: Fossil-Based vs. Sustainability-Advantaged EPDM Compound
A study was launched to replace fossil-based ingredients in a standard EPDM O-ring compound with sustainable materials available in our portfolio.
Compound A: fossil-based formulation
Compound B: sustainability-advantaged formulation
Sustainable raw materials included:
- NEOSSANCE® Squalane (Aprinnova) – ultra-low-impact biotechnological production
- Polyglykol SG VITA & TERRA (Clariant) – bio-based ethylene oxide / ISCC+ certified
- Naugard Bio XL (SI Group) – up to 85% bio-sourced, nitrosamine-safe
- LIPOTIN 50 (Cargill) – 100% bio-sourced soy lecithin
- ECORAX® Circular 215 (Orion) – circular carbon black, mass-balanced
- KELTAN 2650 ECO BC (Arlanxeo) – ISCC+ certified EPDM grade
Results:
- Up to 96% non-fossil raw materials
- Up to 59% bio-sourced raw materials
- Up to 74% circular raw materials
Mechanical testing (performed by Elanova Education) showed:
- Slight reduction in tensile and modulus
- Improved compression set
- Comparable retention of initial properties
- The sustainable compound still met specifications without any fine-tuning
This confirms the feasibility of delivering a sustainability-advantaged alternative using current portfolio materials.
Next steps include:
- Optimizing heat-aging and fluid-aging performance
- Introducing additional sustainable elastomers and additives
- Iterative fine-tuning to enhance mechanical behavior
Conclusion
Safic-Alcan is committed to accelerating the transition toward sustainable rubber compounding. By leveraging our strategic position between suppliers and customers, we aim to:
- Build the industry’s most comprehensive sustainability-advantaged portfolio
- Support customers with viable alternatives to fossil-based compounds
- Provide transparent, responsible ingredient lifecycles
- Continue improving performance through R&D, partnerships, and certifications
This journey is just beginning—but the results already show that sustainable compounds can meet industrial standards while dramatically reducing fossil dependency.