E5-3 Targets related to Resource Use and Circular Economy

[E5-3.24a] The target relates to the increase of circular design by supporting the availability of raw materials (chemicals and polymers) for downstream value chain partners who want to make products from inputs that are renewable or secondary in nature. Downstream customers looking to follow circular product design principles find adequate raw materials processed by OMV that enable circular characteristics throughout the whole life of a product. As OMV is a raw material producer, the increase of circular product design in terms of durability, dismantling, reparability, and recycling does not apply. [E5-3.24b] The EU’s Circular Material Use Rate tracks how much of the total material used in the economy comes from recycled waste. OMV aims to increase this rate, as its target includes both renewable and secondary products. About one-third of this target is made up of renewable products, while the remaining two-thirds come from secondary products derived from plastic waste. OMV’s ReOil® technology specifically processes plastic waste that cannot be recycled mechanically and would otherwise be sent to landfills or incinerated. By doing so, OMV’s efforts contribute to increasing the amount of recycled waste in the economy, thereby enhancing the Circular Material Use Rate.

[E5-3.24c] The target relates directly to the minimization of primary raw material use, as OMV aims to substitute sustainable (recycled or renewable) products for a certain amount of primary fossil material. [E5-3.24d] In collaboration with partners, OMV is pursuing the development of large-scale projects to produce biofuels, biochemicals, and bioplastics from renewable feedstock, including waste streams. Waste biomass, such as residual agricultural, forestry, and wood processing matter, or mixed municipal waste, does not compete with the food and feed chain. Although converting this waste biomass into high-value products is technically challenging, it significantly reduces CO₂ emissions compared to fossil fuels and utilizes local resources effectively. OMV uses only secondary inputs such as used cooking oil for its chemicals production, whereas in the production of fuels, primary inputs such as vegetable oils are also used. OMV’s subsidiary Borealis uses biobased feedstock derived entirely from waste biomass, such as residual agricultural processing matter or collected waste streams, to produce sustainable polyolefins. These polyolefins are marketed under the portfolio name Bornewables™. The sustainable sourcing of OMV products is ensured through ISCC PLUS or ISCC EU certification for all renewable input products. Inputs from recycled plastic waste are certified through ISCC PLUS or EuCertPlast/RecyClass. The only plastic waste inputs OMV uses for its ReOil® chemical recycling technology are those that cannot be mechanically recycled, thus ensuring available plastic waste material is paired with the most sustainable recycling technology available.

OMV purchases biofuels mainly from European producers and excludes palm oil as a feedstock. International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) standards require that no deforestation took place from January 2008 onward for any feedstock that is used for biodiesel generation. Since July 2021, OMV has also complied with the Austrian legal requirement not to use palm oil-based biofuels for target fulfillment. In 2024, of all biofuels placed on the market by OMV, 0.0% were based on palm oil. The sources with the highest input quantities were used cooking oil (UCO) (23.02%), rapeseed oil (24.43%), and corn (18.76%). A total of 59.44% of OMV’s renewable biobased inputs came from conventional sources that are considered to be in competition with food and feed production, 23.02% of inputs were waste-based, 7.25% was derived from animal fats, and 10.29% was derived from advanced sources, such as wheat straw, bagasse (a residue of sugar cane crushing), brown liquor (a by-product from paper production), or POME (palm oil mill effluent).

[E5-3.24e] The target directly relates to waste management, as about two-thirds of the target volume will be made up of chemicals and polymers made from secondary recycled input from plastic waste. OMV’s ReOil® technology specifically targets plastic waste inputs that cannot be recycled mechanically and would otherwise have gone to landfill or incineration. In order to secure enough plastic waste as input material for its recycling processes, in 2023 OMV founded a joint venture with Interzero to build and operate Europe’s largest sorting facility for chemical recycling. The plant will have a capacity of up to 260,000 t per year and will process previously unrecyclable mixed plastics into feedstock for OMV’s chemical recycling. Start-up is planned for 2026.

[E5-3.24f] Working with value chain partners is a necessity in order to come up with more sustainable, resource-efficient, and innovative product solutions. OMV and Borealis frequently seek out value chain collaborations to make a positive impact together. The target in this sense affects OMV’s own operations, as well as its upstream value chain (trading, sorting, treating, transporting, and processing of plastic waste) and downstream value chain (provision of recycled plastic flakes, pyrolysis oils, and renewable feedstock for production and sale of sustainable polymers and other chemicals).

[E5-3.25] The target relates to the recycling layer of the waste hierarchy. [E5-3.27] The OMV target for Resource Use and Circular Economy is voluntary. [E5-AR 15] OMV’s target for Resource Use and Circular Economy defines an absolute value it plans to reach. [E5-AR 16] OMV’s target for Resource Use and Circular Economy refers to the production phase of products and materials.

[E5-AR 17] [E5-AR 20] During target-setting, the potential impact on biodiversity loss was not specifically considered. However, as stipulated in our Code of Conduct, OMV is committed to minimizing disturbance, disruption, and impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems at or in the vicinity of all our projects and operations in alignment with the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and the EU’s biodiversity strategy. For more information, see E4 Biodiversity and Ecosystems.