NLCRC MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Pennzoil Quaker State Company
Welcome to our series aimed at spotlighting the NLCRC members and partners.
Discover how these companies are addressing pressing challenges around environmental sustainability issues, such as energy, greenhouse gas emission reduction, packaging, product recyclability, and what inspires each of them to include lubricant packaging recovery and recycling into their ESG objectives and how they hope to make an impact in the lubricant value chain.
In this month’s Member Spotlight, we present Pennzoil - Quaker State Company, which is a founding and principal member of the NLCRC.
Connect with Pennzoil Quaker State Company on LinkedIn and Twitter:
LinkedIn - Shell
Twitter - Shell (@Shell) / Twitter
How is Shell Lubricants leading with its design, sourcing, and delivery related to a circular economy?
Shell Lubricants is one of our few true end-to-end businesses and we influence or take sourcing and design decisions across the entire value chain. This includes the choice of raw materials we use, to the design and delivery of products or services and the role we play to help customers reduce their waste. As a result, we have an opportunity to design out waste and take a leading position on the circular economy within Shell and within our industry.
Within our Lubricants business, we are reducing, reusing, and recycling packaging across our supply chains, and looking at different and more sustainable packaging.
For example, we are replacing the Nylon component in our Ecobox bladder bag which is non-recyclable with EVOH (ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer), a recyclable material. This change allows the bladder bag to retain its durability and integrity. These changes also benefit our customers and distributors who are looking for ways to demonstrate that our industry—and their businesses--can be more sustainable.
We are exploring process technologies that transform post-use plastic into useful liquids that could be used as a source of energy, as chemicals or as new products.
For example, Shell is using a liquid feedstock made from plastic waste in its chemical plant in Norco, Louisiana, USA to make a range of chemicals that are the raw materials for everyday items. The liquid, supplied by Nexus Fuels, is made from hard-to-recycle plastic waste via a specialized heating technique called pyrolysis.
What are Shell Lubricant’s long-term sustainability goals and how do they relate to lubricant packaging?
Shell Lubricants aspires to deliver improved performance with lower emissions, fewer natural resources, and less waste. To achieve this, we are focused on reducing the CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) intensity of our own products and helping customers manage their sustainability needs.
We are reducing, reusing, and recycling packaging across our supply chains and exploring more sustainable packaging solutions across our businesses to drive the development of a more circular economy.
Sustainability is an integral part of Shell’s business strategy, Powering Progress. Powering Progress is our strategy to accelerate and lead the transition of our business to net-zero emissions, purposefully and profitably.
This strategy includes respecting nature, which means protecting the environment and reducing waste. Our ambition is to use resources and materials efficiently and to increase reuse and recycling.
We are aiming for zero waste by reducing waste generated and increasing reuse and recycling in our businesses and supply chains. We will set goals for waste reduction, reuse and recycling by the end of 2022.
We will work with our suppliers and contractors to help end plastic waste in the environment:
By 2030, we will increase the amount of recycled plastic in our packaging to 30% and ensure that the packaging we use for our products is reusable or recyclable.
We will increase the amount of recycled materials used to make our products, starting with plastics. Our ambition is to use one million tonnes of plastic waste a year in our global chemicals plants by 2025.
How does the company’s membership in the NLCRC help to meet your sustainability goals and commitments?
Shell has seen how unmanaged plastic waste has become a problem and we want to play an active role in finding lasting solutions. To support the long-term growth of establishing a successful waste collection and recycling infrastructure, we recognize the need to collaborate with key partners across the industry. By working together through our participation in the NLCRC, we can develop the solutions necessary to produce the large-scale volumes needed to meet demand and help achieve Shell’s circularity ambition.
Increasing circularity means moving away from a linear (take-make-dispose) economy, to one where products and materials are reused, repurposed, and recycled. This reduction in consumption of raw or virgin material not only reduces waste but can also reduce the need to extract and process additional raw materials. We believe a focus on circular economy and waste can bring opportunities to create new business models, drive innovation and respond to customer expectations.
“Shell has set an ambition to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 or sooner and will play a leading role as the world’s energy system changes. We are also taking action to help customers set and meet CO2e emissions goals by providing premium products and cutting-edge technology to maximize performance and processes. We know that reducing carbon emissions is a complex challenge with many contributing factors, which is why we are working collaboratively with the coalition to find multi-faceted solutions.” Jessica Bell, Sustainability Manager, Sales & Marketing, Americas
What do you value most about the collaborative nature and your membership with NLCRC?
The NLCRC brings together a diverse network of expertise, brands, and value chain participants into a partnership to raise awareness and develop a market sustaining program for lubricant container collection and recycling in the US. This will take time and will rely on the collaboration of the various stakeholders across the value chain.
“This is a monumental step forward for our industry which demonstrates the true importance of collaboration and collective action to drive change. The value each member brings to the table - such as our brand, relationships and resources - help add scale to our mission of establishing a solution to a problem that all individual member companies face.” Praveena Paladugu - Sustainability Lead, Supply Chain
“The different perspectives and backgrounds from this diverse group of members and companies have allowed for innovative and effective solutions. This has enabled us to push forward in an industry that has been looking for the answers to a puzzle that has not yet been solved. This team has been able to move swiftly to explore solutions faster than could have been anticipated.” Danny Vincent – Global Project Manager Packaging, Sustainability
Learn more about Pennzoil - Quaker State Company
The company is a lubricant manufacturer, making and selling engine and industrial oils.
Dive Deeper Into Pennzoil - Quaker State Company’s Sustainability Pledges, Goals, and Commitments
About NLCRC
The National Lubricant Container Recycling Coalition or "NLCRC" is an industry-led technical coalition, established in 2021 by a committed consortium of lubricant manufacturers and associated plastic packaging manufacturers, focused on establishing solutions for post-consumer recovery and recycling of plastic lubricant containers. Members include Castrol, Valvoline, Pennzoil - Quaker State Company, Graham Packaging, Plastipak Packaging, Berry Global, Inc, Petroleum Packaging Council, and Chevron. For more information, visit our website, or connect with NLCRC on LinkedIn and Twitter.
