Vol.:(0123456789) MRS ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY // VOLUME XX // www.mrs.org/energy-sustainability-journal 1 MRS Energy & Sustainability page 1 of 7 © Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon 2022 doi:10.1557/s43581-021-00015-7 Opportunities and challenges for integrating the development of sustainable polymer materials within an international circular (bio)economy concept ABSTRACT The production and consumption of commodity polymers have been an indispensable part of the development of our modern society. Owing to their adjustable properties and variety of functions, polymer-based materials will continue playing important roles in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)s, defined by the United Nations, in key areas such as healthcare, transport, food preservation, construction, electronics, and water management. Considering the serious environmental crisis, generated by increasing consumption of plastics, leading-edge polymers need to incorporate two types of functions: Those that directly arise from the demands of the applica- tion (e.g. selective gas and liquid permeation, actuation or charge transport) and those that enable minimization of environmental harm, e.g., through prolongation of the functional lifetime, minimization of material usage, or through predictable disintegration into non-toxic fragments. Here, we give examples of how the incorporation of a thoughtful combination of properties/functions can enhance the sustain- ability of plastics ranging from material design to waste management. We focus on tools to measure and reduce the negative impacts of plastics on the environment throughout their life cycle, the use of renewable sources for their synthesis, the design of biodegradable and/or recyclable materials, and the use of biotechnological strategies for enzymatic recycling of plastics that fits into a circular bioec- onomy. Finally, we discuss future applications for sustainable plastics with the aim to achieve the SDGs through international cooperation. Leading-edge polymer-based materials for consumer and advanced applications are necessary to achieve sustainable development at a global scale. It is essential to understand how sustainability can be incorporated in these materials via green chemistry, the integration of bio-based building blocks from biorefineries, circular bioeconomy strategies, and combined smart and functional capabilities. Keywords biomaterial · degradable · functional · life cycle assessment · renewable · sustainability Discussion • A new generation of plastics is needed to address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)s. • Data for the End of Life of polymers must be included in their Life Cycle Assessment, and should be supported by predictive methods for degradation analysis. • Sustainable development takes advantage of renewable resources for the production of materials and of biocatalysts for recycling processes. • International cooperation should be enhanced in sustainability aspects of polymer research. PERSPECTIVE Natalia A. Tarazona , Rainhard Machatschek , Jennifer Balcucho and Andreas Lendlein , Institute of Active Polymers, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Kantstraße 55, 14513 Teltow, Germany Rainhard Machatschek and Andreas Lendlein , Institute of Chemistry, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 24-25, 14469 Potsdam, Germany Jinneth Lorena Castro‑Mayorga , Department of Bioproducts, Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria (Agrosavia), 250047 Mosquera-Cundinamarca, Colombia Juan F. Saldarriaga , Civil a nd Environmental Engineering Department, Universidad de los Andes (UniAndes), 111711 Bogotá, Colombia Address all correspondence to Natalia A. Tarazona at natalia.tarazona@ hereon.de; Andreas Lendlein at lendlein@uni-potsdam.de (Received: 21 May 2021; accepted: 22 September 2021)