Orion hits sustainability milestone with multiple plant certification

Houston, Texas - Orion Engineered Carbons has reached a sustainability milestone, becoming “the first [carbon black maker]” to achieve international sustainability and carbon certifications (ISCC Plus) for multiple rubber carbon black grades at multiple sites.

The certified products include Ecorax Circular grades for rubber reinforcement, produced in Borger, Texas, and Belpre, Ohio, using pyrolysis oils from end-of-life tires.

Also covered is Ecorax Nature 200, produced in Jaslo, Poland, and based on bio-circular feedstocks, announced Orion 1 Nov.

“The globally recognised certification further strengthens Orion’s position as the leader in our industry for developing sustainable solutions for our tire, mechanical rubber goods and speciality customers,” said CEO Corning Painter.

According to Orion, the certified products are similar to conventional grades and are “drop-ins” that require “minimal reformulation” in rubber compounds used by tire manufacturing customers.

Oroin said the certification involved rigorous audits of its plants and processes that confirmed the company’s compliance with high sustainability requirements.

It also verified the transparency and traceability of sustainable raw materials in the company’s value chain at the three plants producing the concerned grades of carbon black.

Painter said the introduction of the sustainable products for highly demanding tire applications was a "a critical step" for the transition of the tire industry to a circular economy.