RMI Plastics Emissions Reporting Guidance

This repository holds the necessary tools and guidance for exchanging emissions data in line with RMI's Plastics Extrusion and Molding Guidance, along with licensing and sample files.

The guidance serves as a methodological foundation for RMI's Plastics Data Model. Designed in concert with the guidance, the Plastics Data Model encapsulated the outputs of the guidance, represented as a Data Model Extension to the Pathfinder Data Model.

Product Level Accounting Guidance

RMI's Plastics Extrusion and Molding Guidance. provides a methodology for reporting emissions in a way that enables the development of a differentiated market for low-embodied-emissions in the plastics extrusion and molding sub-sector that promotes the necessary investment to decarbonize the sector.

The decarbonization levers incentivized through this guidance include:

1. Maximize the percent of mechanically recycled plastic.
2. Maximize the precent of energy input from renewable electricity.
3. Minimize carbon combustion and methane leaks.
4. Deploy low-emission virgin plastic production technologies (e.g., renewable electric crackers).
5. Apply low-emission chemical recycling systems when GHG effects are sensible (e.g. recycling medical hazardous waste that must otherwise be incinerated, displacing coal-based plastics).

This guidance was authored by RMI in collaboration with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and its Automotive Partnership for Carbon Transparency (A-PACT) initiative.

Key Principles

There are four key requirements for reporting steel sector emissions using this Steel Emissions Reporting Guidance:

1. Primary data

As much as possible, emissions calculations should be based on first-hand information from various supply chain partners.

2. Consistent boundary for comparison

Companies shall report emissions against a fixed boundary (i.e., a consistent set of processes) to enable comparability and consistency between disclosures.

3. Measurement made for market

Calculation and reporting decisions should enable the development of a market for low-carbon products, resulting in low-carbon production for the plastics sector as a whole.

RMI Plastics Data Model

RMI's Plastics Data Model enables the use of machine-readable sharing of the product level information calculated with RMI's Plastics Extrusion and Molding Guidance.

It has been designed as an extension to the Pathfinder Data Model. Extensions to the model allow for sector specific information to be added to the data model.

Techical Guidance

For the full techical specification of RMI's Plastics Data Model, see here.

Sample and Schema Files

A sample file of the data model can be found here. Note: this sample file includes the full Pathfinder Data Model file as well as RMI's Plastics Data Model.

A json schema file for the data model can be found here.

Contacts

RMI

For questions please contact [email protected]