Circular Economy Collaboration & Co-Creation

P&G Partners to Scale Circular Approach to Chemical Production

Converting industrial CO2 emissions into feedstock for a plethora of common materials is a win-win for lowering costs and decarbonizing consumer products.

Published 1 month ago | About a 4 minute read

Image: Ottó

A major collaboration between Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Durham University and Newcastle University in the UK has yielded a new framework that supports industrial decarbonization of chemicals in the consumer goods sector, through the use of captured carbon as a feedstock.

The research asserts that using carbon capture to valorize industrial flue gases — the byproducts of burning fuel in industrial processes such as power generation and manufacturing — into products is a win-win for lowering costs, diverting climate-changing emissions and decarbonizing consumer products.

Lower-impact, circular chemical production

The P&G-Durham-Newcastle partnership builds on the work of the Flue2Chem project — a two-year program in which P&G, BASF, Unilever and 12 other organizations worked to develop a new value chain to convert industrial waste gases into sustainable feedstocks for consumer products.

This latest, 18-month partnership has produced a robust tool that enables chemical manufacturers to assess and compare existing and emerging technologies based on environmental impact, economic viability and alignment with policy. The framework integrates lifecycle assessment (LCA), technoeconomic analysis (TEA) and regulatory considerations to help businesses make informed decisions about low-carbon manufacturing routes.

P&G Durham Newcastle carbon
capture Image credit: ACS Sustainable Resource Management

“This framework empowers stakeholders to evaluate low-carbon options and make strategic decisions about which technologies to scale,” said Professor Nalan Gulpinar from Durham University Business School, who led the research team. “The collaboration also supports the development of sustainable products for the global market.”

Industrial decarbonization requires a holistic approach that includes supply chain design, TEA and LCA to drive the transition toward a low-carbon future. CO2 emissions can be upcycled into chemical feedstocks for everything from apparel, auto parts, carbonated beverages and detergent (P&G has already explored the use of captured carbon in its Tide brand) to footwear, fuel, personal-care products, plastics and more. The study asserts that scaling sustainable supply management by upcycling CO2 into chemical feedstocks across industries can be particularly impactful: For example, turning flue gases from steelmaking into feedstock could mitigate up to 2.4 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK alone. The research also underscores the importance of integrating low-cost, clean sources of electricity and hydrogen into manufacturing systems to maintain profitability.

“Making sustainable chemicals profitable will be key to growing manufacturing while achieving industrial decarbonization,” said Newcastle University Professor Elizabeth Gibson. “This work shows how that ambition can be realized.”

An impactful collaboration model

The project was delivered through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) — a UK-wide scheme in which businesses form strategic partnerships with academic institutions to develop new products or services, expand markets, and improve efficiency or organizational performance to address core strategic challenges — co-funded by UK Research & Innovation through Innovate UK and P&G. The ongoing success of KTPs reflects the potential of academia and industry working together to solve complex global challenges.

P&G and Durham first began collaborating in 2023, when Durham researchers teamed up with the consumer goods giant to bring new synthetic capabilities to P&G’s Newcastle Innovation Center.

"Improving supply chain knowledge is increasingly critical in today’s world, and having a sound methodology in support of more sustainable sourcing is key,” said Ian Blakemore, Knowledge Transfer Adviser at Innovate UK Business Connect. "This unusual project delivered this in a relatively short time — demonstrating that KTPs are an excellent way of delivering improved understanding, supporting change in complex systems."

The future of sustainable manufacturing

This partnership demonstrates how academic expertise, when combined with industry insight, can shape the future of sustainable manufacturing.

Initial findings of the carbon-captured chemicals study are now published in ACS Sustainable Resource Management, with further publications planned. The team says the research is already influencing innovation across the chemical manufacturing sector.