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1. Bring together stakeholders across industry, academia and the policy community to collaborate on a pre-competitive basis throughout the value chain on research and innovation to enable a shift towards sustainable PLFs.

2. Provide a forum for the PLFs stakeholders and supply chains to track and discuss progress towards the delivery of the roadmap and completion of the missions.

3. Engage with a diverse range of funding bodies, from UK Research and Innovation(UKRI) to regulators, private finance and philanthropists, to inform innovation funding and form a portfolio of projects to catalyse the delivery of both missions.

4. Promote research on PLFs, including supporting academic communities to publish research articles on this topic, starting with a PLFs-themed issue across several of our peer-reviewed journals.

5. Assist in the development of appropriate regulation, governance, standards and metrics for the sustainable production, use and recycling of PLFs with UK and European partners, starting by integrating our work on PLFs into that of the European Chemical Industry Council.

6. Host a series of topic-specific workshops and networking events to enable knowledge-sharing and collaboration focused on sustainable PLFs. This will also include a large-scale annual PLFs conference.

7. Convene collaborative consortia for system-wide and game-changing research and innovation project proposals that will deliver biodegradable PLFs and advance circular infrastructure.

1. Adopt the PLF terminology and publish research to stimulate development of this field of research and innovation.

2. Develop research focused on the Five Fs: feedstock, the formulation of PLFs, their functionality, their fate – including the effects of PLFs pollution on the environment – and the future environment for PLFs.

3. Collaborate with industry and funders to develop RD&I programmes that tackle sustainability transition issues faced by industry across the lifecycle.

4. Develop and enhance specialist training pathways on sustainability assessment to facilitate evaluation and monitoring of circularity of PLFs (and other materials relevant to sustainability), including through lifecycle assessment (LCA) methodologies.

1. Commit to developing and scaling biodegradable PLFs by 2030.

2. Commit to advancing the circular economy infrastructure for PLFs by 2030, across the value chain. 

3. Collaborate in consortia funding applications to build capability for the transition to sustainable PLFs.

4. Collaborate where feasible on a precompetitive basis throughout the value chain on research and innovation that will enable the shift to sustainable PLFs, including committing financial resources to precompetitive RD&I projects.

5. Commit to a shared knowledge base via increased non-proprietary information sharing to upskill the industry ecosystem through publication, engagement and collaboration.

6. Make internal infrastructure and process changes to reduce potential environmental pollution via PLFs.

1. Establish a national chemicals regulator that bring greater cohesiveness and connectivity across government departments, recognising the current coordination challenge across departments. 

2. Ensure UKRI recognises PLFs as a large-scale sustainability challenge linked to its ‘Building a Green Future' strategic theme, to signal the potential value of research proposals linked to the two PLFs missions.

3. Encourage the UK Government, UKRI, ARIA and other research funders to recognise the sustainability challenge PLFs present and acknowledge the innovation opportunities from sustainable PLFs.

1. Integrate the concept of PLFs into overarching international policy frameworks, such as the UN Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste and the Prevention of Pollution; the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change; the European Green Deal; and the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability.

2. Call on the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and OECD to work with industry to establish new metrics for scrutiny protocols pertaining to safety, toxicology and sustainability of PLFs.

3. Widen future Horizon Europe grants to also focus on non-plastic polymers in their circular bioeconomy joint undertaking calls.

I am Immediate Past President of the ÀË»¨Ö±²¥ Industry and Technology Division Council. I have worked extensively on regional economic development and was founding chair of the North East England Innovation Board. I currently chair Northern Accelerator, the research commercialisation programme for five universities in the north-east of England. I previously held global R&D positions with Procter and Gamble.

Polymers are important building-blocks for a myriad of everyday products, but unlike plastics they’re hidden from ‘sustainability view’. We need to change this. We need a concerted multi-sector and supply chain effort to look for technical innovation that reduces polymer impact and we need to drive a clear strategy action. I am excited to be leading this group to achieve these aims.

I hold a Masters degree from the Indian Institute of Technology and won a Jawaharlal Nehru Trust scholarship to study for my PhD in organometallic chemistry at the University of Cambridge. I am a professional technologist and business leader with 28 years’ experience in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. This involved leading product and technology innovation programmes impacting several billion dollars of sales around the world and enabled Procter and Gamble’s expansion into new markets.  I have been awarded multiple innovation awards and I am an inventor on over 50 patents, with over 20 peer-reviewed publications.

I have coordinated several high-impact industry-academia collaboration programmes, and am an immediate past member of the EPSRC strategic advisory team for the physical sciences and also for the circular economy. Since retiring in May 2021, I have been appointed to several honorary positions including Professor in Practice at Durham University, Senior Research Fellow at University of Birmingham, equality and inclusion advisor to EPSRC and have been appointed a Fellow of the ÀË»¨Ö±²¥.

• Industry: Producers and manufacturers of polymers; those who create polymer-using products; and those who are developing emerging technologies and solutions.
• Academia: Researchers who are working on fundamental and applied research in this area.
• Governments and policymakers: Those responsible for policies and regulation that support and enable researchers and businesses to tackle the problem.
• Funding bodies: Organisations interested in funding current and future research and collaborative projects, backed by industry, to develop sustainable solutions for PLFs.
• Waste management organisations: Organisations that collect, recycle and dispose of PLF products.

Video introduction

The animation below provides an overview of our 2021 summary report on polymers in liquid formulations.

In simple terms, polymers are long-chain molecules built from smaller repeating units called monomers. Some polymers contain only one type of monomer as their building block; others, known as copolymers, may contain two or more different types of monomer.

The OECD defines a polymer in more detail as: “a substance consisting of molecules characterised by the sequence of one or more types of monomer units and comprising a simple weight majority of molecules containing at least three monomer units which are covalently bound to at least one other monomer unit or other reactant and consist of less than a simple weight majority of molecules of the same molecular weight. Such molecules must be distributed over a range of molecular weights wherein differences in the molecular weight are primarily attributable to differences in the number of monomer units.

In the context of this definition, REACH specifies:

• A ‘monomer unit' means the reacted form of a monomer in a polymer
• The weight percentage of molecules containing three monomer units or above should exceed 50%
• The weight percentage of any molecule of the same molecular weight shall not exceed 50%

A PLF is one of a broad group of polymers that are used in formulations that are liquid during the manufacturing process and/or are liquid up to the point of utilisation. Some common uses of PLFs are as thickeners, emulsifiers and binders within a formulation.

PLFs are used across a wide variety of sectors for both consumer and industrial products. They are important ingredients in sectors such as adhesives and sealants, agriculture, household cleaning, inks and coatings, lubricants, personal care and cosmetic products, and water treatment.

More than 36 million metric tonnes of polymers in liquid formulations (PLFs) are made and used every year, enough to fill over 14,500 Olympic sized swimming pools or Wembley Stadium 32 times over.

Polymers in liquid formulations (PLFs) are found in millions of household and industrial products. They play a vital role in our society by improving food productivity, treating wastewater and protecting buildings, infrastructure and transport, as well as creating consumer products that promote health and wellbeing.

PLFs are used in eight key markets, which have a combined estimated global value of $1.27 trillion. These are: adhesives and sealants, agriculture, household cleaning, inks and coatings, lubricants, paints and coatings, personal care and cosmetics, and water treatment.

A significant proportion of the 36 million tonnes of all PLFs made and sold each year – over 31 million metric tonnes – are sold in the paints and coatings, inks and coatings, and adhesives and sealants markets.

Polymers in liquid formulations (PLFs) are a high value and critically important class of speciality chemicals worth $125 billion to the global economy annually.

More than 36 million metric tonnes of PLFs are made and used every year, enough to fill over 14,500 Olympic sized swimming pools or Wembley Stadium 32 times over. Currently, the most likely destination at the end of their life is waste, which means that the value of PLFs is lost after use.

To ensure that the PLFs sector is economically and environmentally sustainable in the future, new approaches to PLF production, use and end-of-life treatment are needed. This is a challenge that is bigger than any single organisation, market or academic research group.

Manufacturers produce polymers in liquid formulations (PLFs) from a variety of raw materials including natural, bio-based and fossil-derived monomers. Synthetic PLFs are the most commercially significant because of their availability at high volumes, their competitive cost and the highly specialised properties that they deliver. However, in some markets, natural and bio-based materials are growing in use.

Our report Polymers in liquid formulations: opportunities for a sustainable future looks at three key opportunities to increase value for money and improve sustainability:

• Innovation – such as developing biodegradable or naturally sourced alternatives.
• Circular economy – finding ways to reuse waste in new valuable products.
• Improving waste management – capturing PLFs after use.

Download report

Our Sustainable Polymers in Liquid Formulations Task Force was established following this report with the purpose: ‘To provide leadership in creating a collaborative and joined-up strategy leading to a step change in innovation towards sustainable PLFs.’

Polymers in liquid formulations (PLFs) are a high value and critically important class of speciality chemicals worth $125 billion to the global economy annually, and are used in eight key markets, which have a combined estimated global value of $1.27 trillion.

The polymers in liquid formulations (PLFs) market is technically diverse and complex, comprising hundreds of different polymer types within the categories of acrylic, epoxy resins, polyesters, polysilicones, polyurethanes, radiation curable, vinyl, water-soluble and other low volume polymers.

PLFs are used in formulations that are either liquid, which remain liquid on application and throughout use, or curable, which form solids on application and remain solid in use. These formulation systems can explain key differences in the use and fate of PLFs across different markets.

Both are made from polymers, but while all plastics are polymers, not all polymers are plastics. Polymers in liquid formulations (PLFs) and plastics are different groups of polymers with different uses and properties.

Despite their importance to society and the global economy, and in contrast to the recent intense focus on the sustainability of plastics, there has been very little coordinated effort to highlight the sustainability of PLFs.

Polymers in liquid formulations (PLFs) used in products that do not harden, such as in cosmetics or household cleaners, are likely to enter the environment as they pass through wastewater treatment plants at the end of their life.

PLFs used in curable formulations, such as paints and resins, form solids on application and provide durability over much longer timeframes than other markets. They may remain on materials after use and either enter waste streams at the end of their life, such as landfill, or enter the environment during use.