The Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI), a global network of over 60 companies from the chemical and materials sectors, held its annual general meeting in Cologne, Germany from September 25th to 26th. The two-day event brought together over 50 representatives from member companies for a productive exchange of ideas and updates on the RCI's mission.
In addition to reviewing the accomplishments of the past year and discussing long-term strategy for 2024 and beyond, attendees also voted on potential new activities for the RCI to address in the coming year. The meeting concluded with a series of presentations from member companies and valuable networking opportunities.
The RCI also announced the release of an updated version of its key publication, "Renewable Carbon as a Guiding Principle for Sustainable Carbon Cycles." Originally published in February 2022, the publication has been revised to incorporate new climate change data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and reflect the RCI's advocacy efforts over the past 18 months.
The updated publication serves as a comprehensive resource that clarifies the concept of renewable carbon and emphasizes its essential role as a guiding principle for policy. It highlights how the transition from fossil carbon to renewable carbon in the chemical and derived materials industry can be facilitated, leading to a defossilised future that enables net-zero targets and circularity of carbon.
"As the world continues to grapple with the pressing challenges of climate change, our annual General Meeting and the updated publication of our core report underscore the RCI's commitment to advancing sustainable carbon cycles and fostering collaboration within the industry," said Michael Carus, one of the two Executive Managers of the Renewable Carbon Initiative. "We believe that by promoting the use of renewable carbon as a guiding principle, we can drive substantial change and support the defossilisation of our sector."