HOUSTON – Orion S.A. (NYSE: OEC), a specialty chemical company, released its 2025 Sustainability Report today, highlighting the need for a climate policy that reflects the basic realities of chemistry and manufacturing.
The climate policy issue is the focus of the report’s “CEO Letter,” which notes the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) is one of the top sustainability topics on the minds of leaders in the chemical industry with operations in Europe.
The ETS is designed to reduce European greenhouse gas emissions by requiring companies to purchase permits to cover their carbon dioxide, or CO₂, emissions. Although businesses receive
a certain number of free allowances each year to cushion the ETS burden, the allowance thresholds are intended to be phased out over time.
Given the potential impact on the competitiveness of Europe’s industrial base, there have been protests and challenges from companies, industry associations and some politicians.
“While I support the underlying goal of the ETS,” Orion CEO Corning Painter said, “the policy is simply going to result in shifting jobs and CO₂ emissions from Europe to Asia, with no reduction in CO₂.”
Painter added, “The policy’s expectations for the carbon black industry overlook basic realities of chemistry, physics and manufacturing.”
The overlooked realities include:
- CO₂ is a low-energy molecule. Converting CO₂ to useful products demands significant energy, which often produces more CO₂.
- Separating CO₂ is energy intensive. The process of removing CO₂ from other emissions requires energy, which often generates more emissions.
- Capturing or converting CO₂ is expensive. Cost-conscious consumers are generally reluctant to spend more on sustainable products.
The report encourages the EU to choose a more realistic path based on science. Officials should adopt ways to transition manufacturing toward sustainability through innovation coupled with incentives, as well as more judicious trade policies.
“The EU’s current policy will simply result in European manufacturing being replaced by production in India and China,” Painter said. “This will not help the environment, and it will make the EU more dependent on imports for essential raw materials, such as carbon black.”
The full Sustainability Report is available on Orion’s website: https://orioncarbons.com/sustainability/
About Orion S.A.
Orion S.A. (NYSE: OEC) is a leading global supplier of carbon black, a solid form of carbon produced as powder or pellets. The material is made to customers’ exacting specifications for tires, coatings, ink, batteries, plastics and numerous other specialty, high-performance applications. Carbon black is used to tint, colorize, provide reinforcement, conduct electricity, increase durability and add UV protection. Orion has four innovation centers and produces carbon black at 15 plants worldwide, offering the most diverse variety of production processes in the industry. The company’s corporate lineage goes back more than 160 years to Germany, where it operates the world’s longest-running carbon black plant. Orion is a leading innovator, applying a deep understanding of customers’ needs to deliver sustainable solutions. For more information, please visit orioncarbons.com.
Contact:
William Foreman
Orion S.A.
Director of Corporate Communications
william.foreman@orioncarbons.com
Direct: +1 832-445-3305
