
About the partnership
Background to the initiative and what’s involved
Sustainability is fast becoming a global priority with a huge drive for change. As a society, our passion for sustainability from a moral perspective has grown rapidly, and there are now strong zero carbon legislation targets mandated across industries in a bid to reduce their impact on the environment.
Today, composites already support the drive to a carbon neutral future through:
But there is more that we need to do. Currently, there are a limited number of options to reuse and recycle composites and they often degrade the materials’ performance. As a result, only 15% of the 110,000 tonnes of composites produced in the UK each year will be reused or recycled at end-of-life. Additionally, more than 95% of composites are made from raw materials and resins that are unsustainable.
We need to act now to develop composite materials sustainably for the next generation of lightweight, super efficient planes, cars and ships. This is what the Sustainable Composites partnership has been set up to deliver. The UK now has the opportunity to take the lead in the development of sustainable composites. Globally, end-of-life composite components have the potential to be worth in excess of £2bn per annum, which will grow exponentially with the further adoption of composites across all markets.
Background to the initiative and what’s involved
The barriers to overcome in meeting net zero carbon through the use of sustainable composites
Some of the potential solutions the partnership will be exploring
Exploring existing and new methods to dissemble, reuse and recycle composites
Using sustainable raw materials to future-proof our products
A summary of some of our activities
Inspiring the next generation of budding engineers, scientists, environmentalists and sustainable policymakers.
Some examples of innovative projects in sustainability that the NCC and CPI have delivered
Endorsements from some of our key industry partners involved in the initiative