Monthly News from the Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI), June 2026

In June, key activities included contributions to the Critical Chemicals Alliance and input to the EU Biotech Act II Call for Evidence. RCI also launched four new projects on mass balance approaches, biomass risk assessment, SBTi White Paper and LCA in recycling. The latest Roundtable on “Beyond Textile-to-Textile Recycling: Why Carbon Circularity Matters” took place on 16 June, hosted by Vaude.

Critical Chemicals Alliance

The active work within CCA has come to an end – potentially only a Summer break – and all WGs have finalised their deliverables. These deliverables will now be discussed and acknowledged by the on-top-sitting Steering Group. RCI has been actively involved in the core groups of WG3 and WG4.

WG3 (Modernisation and Investment) has developed a) an overview document of the investment and finance landscape in Europe and b) a Charter “Restore the Investment for EU Chemicals Production”. This Charter sets out what Europe must decide now, at speed and scale, to ensure survival of chemical production in Europe, modernise existing assets within the next investment cycle and accelerate the development and deployment of modern technologies in Europe.

WG4 (Lead markets) prepared two deliverables, the first recommending a selection of recommended end markets to address for lead market creation, the second developing a set of policy measures to create such lead markets – both for low-carbon products (i.e. based on carbon footprint) and sustainable carbon products (i.e. based on renewable carbon). In the end, 11 end-markets were highlighted as potential lead markets (automotive, packaging, construction, electronics, fertilisers, furniture, paints & coatings, personal & home care, pharmaceuticals, textiles, wearing apparel). To create such lead markets, a policy package consisting of end-market specific recommendations, horizontal recommendations and relevant policy enablers was put together.

New RCI Projects

The RCI has kicked off four new projects aimed at advancing the transition from fossil to renewable carbon in the chemical and materials industry.

The project “Mass Balance and Attribution Approaches for Chemicals from Recycling and Biomass: Evaluation, Impacts and Alignment” aims to build a robust, independent, and practical evidence base to support informed decision-making on mass balance approaches. The project will assess current methodologies, address key weaknesses in the ongoing debate, and work towards a joint, science-based position grounded in comprehensive impact evaluation.

With the “Biomass Risk Navigator”, RCI aims to develop a transparent, science-driven framework to assess biomass-related risks and enable stakeholders across industry, policy, and civil society to communicate using a shared language and methodology.

In parallel, RCI is looking to prepare a “SBTi White Paper” to highlight relevant aspects in the recently released SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard v2.0 and related GHG Protocol methodologies. The project will deliver clear and actionable recommendations to better reflect defossilisation pathways and remove existing disincentives in carbon accounting.

Finally, another new project on recycling in LCA, titled “White Paper on methodological approaches and climate and circularity benefits of recycling from a life cycle perspective”, will be kicked off soon. Building on previous RCI publications (2025) addressing renewable carbon in recycling contexts, this project aims to clarify methodological differences, ensure robust and meaningful comparisons, and further strengthen the value proposition of renewable carbon-based materials within circular systems.

WG Policy

The WG Policy meeting on 30 June focused on the following topics:

• Biotech Act II: On 9 June, the RCI submitted its statement to the Biotech Act II Call for Evidence, emphasising that the EU Biotech Act II should be technology-neutral and create strong demand for all three renewable carbon sources to help replace fossil carbon in chemicals and materials.
• Outcomes of the survey used for the Biotech Act II Call for Evidence
• Outcomes of the Critical Chemicals Alliance work streams (see segment on Critical Chemicals Alliance)
• Take-aways from an RCI Office trip to Brussels in early June
• Brainstorming on a position on cascading use

WG Sustainability 

The next Working Group on Sustainability meeting has been scheduled for 14 July 2026. 

• The Corporate Net-Zero Standard (CNZS) 2.0 was released by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) a few weeks ago. Consequently, the group’s white paper requires reassessment to determine which elements of feedback provided late last year remain relevant. A proposal outlining the key points will be presented at the July meeting and then circulated to the entire working group in written form. Members are encouraged to flag any new points of concern or input ahead of that discussion.
• Regarding the Land Sector and Removals Standard (LSRS) by GHG Protocol, the previous meeting explored the possibility of a member-led initiative to lay the groundwork for this topic. A first set of comments which can serve as a solid basis for further deliberations have been received and feedback will be discussed.
• A new project on recycling in LCA will be kicked off soon. 
• Finally, the finalisation of the PEF TAB work has been postponed until further notice. The group will be updated as soon as new information becomes available.

RCI Roundtable

The RCI Roundtable is a member-driven, one-hour discussion format enabling structured, science-based dialogue on key renewable-carbon topics. RCI members may submit their interest to host a session, external stakeholders or partners can be invited to present, and each roundtable consists of a 15-minute topic presentation followed by 45 minutes of discussion.

Vaude (DE) – Beyond Textile-to-Textile Recycling: Why Carbon Circularity Matters

The last roundtable, titled “Beyond Textile-to-Textile Recycling: Why Carbon Circularity Matters”, was hosted by René Bethmann from Vaude on 16 June from 14:00 to 15:00 CEST.

Textile-to-textile recycling was presented as an important solution for circularity and climate targets in the textile sector. However, this session took a broader perspective and explored why recycling alone would not be enough. The discussion focused on the role of renewable carbon, CCU, bio-based feedstocks and carbon circularity, and why future strategies needed to go beyond product loops and focus more strongly on how carbon is sourced, used and kept in the system. The session opened a valuable cross-industry discussion on practical pathways towards defossilisation and net-zero.

The session brought together 33 participants and sparked engaging and insightful discussions.

Ambassador Activities

EUCAR (European Council for Automotive R&D) workshop on “fossil-free polymers” | 2 June

RCI was invited to a conference call of the international expert group on “fossil-free polymers”, providing an impulse presentation to initiate further discussions.

Meeting with BIC in Brussels | 2 June

RCI met with BIC and its new executive director Philippe, to maintain good connections and brainstorm on further collaborations or joint projects in the future.

DG GROW – Unit F2 (Bioeconomy, Chemicals and Cosmetics) | 3 June

RCI met with DG GROW discussing the Biotech Act II, current baselines of bio-based shares in industry, biomass availability and cascading use. RCI’s planned update to its Carbon Flows analysis is therefore of considerable interest.

DG ENV – Unit B1 (Bioeconomy & Sustainable Materials) | 3 June

RCI and DG ENV discussed the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), biomass sustainability, cascading use, composting, and highlighting key data and policy gaps. DG ENV has also expressed interest in the upcoming RCI Carbon Flows update. The forthcoming RCI publication from the biodiversity project will be discussed with policy stakeholders ahead of publication.

Bioeconomy Conference in Berlin | 18 June 

RCI was invited to the Bioeconomy Conference in Berlin, providing a short arena pitch focusing on existing RCI positions and studies on biomass availability and use of food & feed crops.

Source

Renewable Carbon Initiative, original text, 2026-06-02.

Supplier

Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI)
Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)
VAUDE

Share