Ingevity Corporation (NYSE:NGVT) today announced that a study conducted by consulting firm Environmental Resources Management (ERM), London, U.K., has determined the carbon negative properties of the pine-based raw materials in its WestRez® 5101 tackifier adhesive completely offset the volume of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions released during manufacture and generate a carbon footprint 12% lower than petroleum-based alternatives. The study also estimates WestRez technology is even more beneficial when considering the end life of a construction adhesive, generating a 62% lower carbon footprint than alternatives, even if an end-use product is landfilled.

“The ERM study is a powerful testament to the superior environmental benefits of Ingevity’s pine-based chemistries throughout the product lifecycle,” said Rich White, senior vice president, Performance Chemicals, and president, Industrial Specialties and Pavement Technologies. “As a company with a global presence, we aim to be a responsible steward of our environment and will continue to provide renewable solutions that help customers advance their sustainability goals and meet the preferences of end-use consumers.”

Used in packaging, tapes, labels and construction adhesive applications, WestRez 5101 was launched in 2008 as part of Ingevity’s Performance Chemicals portfolio of bio-based chemistries created from crude tall oil and tall oil rosin, renewable co-products of the paper-making industry. According to the ERM study, the 2.75 metric tons (MT) of carbon pulled from the atmosphere and stored in the pine tree during tree growth outbalance the 2.23 MT of carbon released with the energy use, packaging and other outputs associated with WestRez manufacture, leaving a negative carbon footprint that poses zero climate change impact.

White added that ERM’s study considered a variety of end-of-life impacts to determine potential comparative environmental benefits. Due to the pine tree-based origin of the product, the carbon released at the end of the WestRez lifecycle – whether through incineration, recycling or landfilling of the consumer product – does not contribute to climate change. ERM estimated the carbon footprint for WestRez, including end-of-life emissions, is 62% lower than the carbon footprint of petroleum-based alternatives.

ERM is a global provider of environmental, health, safety, risk, social and sustainability-related consulting services, and relied on the IPCC 2013 Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) method to calculate the product’s GHG emissions to assess climate change potential. This approach is consistent with the assumptions of the LCIA study conducted by Franklin Associates for the American Chemistry Council Pine Chemistry Panel. ERM used the Franklin Associates study as the source of carbon footprint data for the tall oil rosin input.

This is the third study in Ingevity’s ongoing review of the environmental impacts of its major product lines. For more information on ERM’s net product benefit study of WestRez 5101, please visit the sustainability page on Ingevity’s website.

Ingevity: Purify, Protect and Enhance

Ingevity provides products and technologies that purify, protect and enhance the world around us. Through a team of talented and experienced people, we develop, manufacture and bring to market solutions that help customers solve complex problems and make the world more sustainable. We operate in two reporting segments: Performance Chemicals, which includes specialty chemicals and engineered polymers, and Performance Materials, which includes high-performance activated carbon. These products are used in a variety of demanding applications, including asphalt paving, oil exploration and production, agrochemicals, adhesives, lubricants, publication inks, coatings, elastomers, bioplastics and automotive components that reduce gasoline vapor emissions. Headquartered in North Charleston, South Carolina, Ingevity operates from 25 locations around the world and employs approximately 1,850 people. The company is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:NGVT). For more information visit www.ingevity.com.

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