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The event focused on how the different actors in the polymers in liquid formulations (PLFs) ecosystem can work together to create a systemic transformation in the chemicals market that produces and uses PLFs.

Workshops, networking opportunities and frank discussions gave attendees a chance to discuss the challenges and opportunities from a holistic perspective and explore their role in the industry-wide change.

The PLFs sector is worth $125 billion annually and produces 36 million tonnes of products every year, yet almost none of those are currently recycled or reused. 

The RSC has built the field for PLFs since 2017, with actions including coining the term PLFs to ringfence this high potential market, publishing a number of technical and market reports to build the knowledge in this space, convening a multi-sectorial task force to chart the path to collaborative innovation, and by championing PLFs at national and European level.

The annual meeting was a recognition of the momentum behind PLFs and an opportunity to join up the different strands of work.

Organised so that stakeholders from industry and academia can come together in a formal, non-competitive setting, these yearly gatherings aim to chart a path forward for this group of non-plastic polymers.

Market transformations require a ‘systems-level approach’ and a reassessment of the entire ecosystem from production to disposal.

The challenge of developing sustainable PLFs is multi-faceted in that they must also be suitable from economic and performance standpoints in addition to an environmental one.

Professor Anju Massey-Brooker, Technical Programme Lead for the Sustainable PLFs initiative, said: "This is why we bring together industry partners that serve these sectors, but also players from across the value chain, from producers, the users, and also the waste management companies to think about all the challenges, the value chain and also at the sector level that PLFs are encountering."

Presentations and workshops unite community

Dr Aurora Antemir, Systems Convener of the Sustainable PLFs 2040 Initiative, kicked off the event with a brief presentation before introducing the members of the Foresight and Coordination Group, a collaborative leadership group for the initiative.

The day's first workshop, facilitated by Dr Anna Birney, CEO of the School of Systems Change, was very much in-keeping with the collaborative nature of the initiative. During the session, stakeholders shared insights and connected issues across four critical areas for PLFs: formulation, fate, functionality and feedstocks.

A pair of highly informative and pertinent presentations restarted events after a networking lunch. Dr Martin Klatt, Head of Product Stewardship Dispersions and Resins at BASF, looked at developments on the EU’s digital product passport.

He was followed by Professor Andrew Dove, Professor of sustainable polymer chemistry from the University of Birmingham, who presented an overview of a newly awarded £3.35m EPSRC Prosperity Partnership.

This initiative brings together chemical businesses, water companies and other stakeholders, to develop high-throughput, lab-based assays that enhance the prediction and characterisation of PLFs biodegradability.

Rounding off the day, Foresight and Coordination Group members added their reflections from the day and what will they take into the Foresight meetings in early 2026. Dr Antemir brought proceedings to a close with the announcement of the return of the Sustainable PLFs Summit on 7 October 2026.

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