Partner Spotlight: Interview with Timothée Harvey and Catherine Colin of IPC

 
Life cycle data is essential for informed decision-making, helping companies assess the environmental impact of their processes and materials from production through disposal. However, reliable and up-to-date data specific to the plastics sector is often scarce, limiting the ability of industry players to perform accurate life cycle assessments (LCAs).
 
This is where the Industrial Technical Center for Plastics and Composites (IPC) steps in, focusing on creating high-quality, sector-specific datasets to support the plastics and composites industry’s shift toward more sustainable practices. Through its collaboration with ecoinvent, IPC can make these critical datasets accessible to a global audience, ensuring transparency and reliability in environmental data for the plastics sector.
 
By sharing high-quality life cycle inventory (LCI) data with ecoinvent, IPC empowers industry stakeholders to conduct more accurate LCAs, facilitating the adoption of sustainable materials and practices. This partnership not only strengthens the plastics sector’s sustainability efforts but also highlights the importance of collaboration in advancing environmental standards across global industries.
 
In this interview, IPC’s Timothée Harvey and Catherine Colin discuss how this partnership enhances IPC’s mission to bring the industry closer to a circular economy.

Timothée and Catherine, please tell us a bit about your backgrounds and what led you into the sustainability sector.
 
TH: I began my career in the automotive industry as a mechanical engineer, first in France, then in Spain and Belgium. I then had the opportunity to specialize in life cycle analysis following the resumption of my studies. This specialization led me to work in the sustainability department of the Industrial Technical Center for Plastics and Composites.
 
CC: I have combined expertise in project management, product design, and environmental sustainability. I gained operational expertise in environmental sustainability when I managed the Schneider Electric program for six years. In 2022, I joined IPC as a research program manager to lead the program on health and safety and low-impact solutions. My practical experience is helpful for the ongoing transition in the plastics processing sector.
 
Could you describe your roles at the Industrial Technical Center for Plastics and Composites (IPC) and how you contribute to the organization’s sustainability goals?
  
TH: My tasks at IPC are mainly focused on LCA and eco-design. The projects I lead can be specific to a company, such as implementing a product LCA, or they can be related to the entire plastics and composites sector to address more cross-cutting issues, like creating life cycle inventory data.
  
CC: At IPC, I develop future European or national projects to execute our research roadmap on health and safety for humans and ecosystems and solutions with low environmental impact. As IPC creates links between the plastic sector and environmental specialists, we are the perfect entity to create new LCI datasets to facilitate the execution of LCA in this domain. This is why I have increased the development of projects to create LCI datasets.
  
What are IPC’s main focus areas, and how does environmental sustainability guide your work across these activities?
  
CC: IPC has three core activities: research, services, and collective actions with IPC beneficiaries. Environmental sustainability is the primary domain of the IPC research program. The 2024 – 2027 program includes three axes: energy and ecological transition, digital transition—the industry of the future, and high-added-value products.
 


In what ways does IPC drive sustainability in the plastics sector, and how does access to reliable data support these efforts?
  
CC: IPC promotes sustainability in many ways, such as facilitating recycling, developing innovative alternatives, and reducing exposure to substances of concern. Research projects are accompanied by the practice of Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) with a triple evaluation of environmental, economic, and social performance. To facilitate the implementation of alternative solutions with low environmental impact, IPC targets to cover 80% of plastic converting processes with recent and reliable LCI datasets. This gives industrial actors more awareness about environmental impacts and permits them to execute LCA with better data.
  
What are some key data collection challenges in your field, and how do you work to address them?
  
TH: Our project with ADEME to construct a life cycle inventory on composite transformation processes was the first of its kind within our company. This project highlighted the importance of trust in the project and the company carrying it out. The companies visited opened their doors and shared information only if they were convinced of the added value of making this data available.

How did the collaboration between IPC and ecoinvent come about, and how does IPC use ecoinvent’s data?
  
TH: ADEME requested collaboration with ecoinvent. For data consistency, ADEME wanted the data editing support to be provided by ecoinvent. Following this request, we had the pleasure of working with ecoinvent to construct data. We already used ecoinvent data in our service for LCA realization with the SimaPro tool.
 


What was it like working directly with the ecoinvent team on data projects?
  
TH: Working with ecoinvent allowed us to compare our data construction methodology with a team of specialists who could share their experience in the field. The ecoinvent team has always been available and attentive to our questions to advance the project as best as possible.


 
Why is accurate data from the plastics sector necessary for advancing sustainability practices in the industry?
  
TH: Our goal is to provide accurate data for the plastics sector we represent. Industrial actors often report that the data are too far from their processes or obsolete, which constrains them in realizing their LCA. We want to make this data available so industrialists can control their environmental impact and actively implement solutions.


 
What specific benefits does sharing IPC’s data with ecoinvent bring to IPC and the broader plastics industry?
  
TH: ecoinvent is a global reference for providing life cycle inventory data. Working with ecoinvent ensures our role as a technical center as we respond to the strong demand from the plastics sector for publishing environmental data. This partnership also helps increase the visibility of the work done.
 


What are the main challenges the plastics and composites industry will face in the next decade regarding sustainability?
  
CC: The key challenge for plastic composites is to improve their performance on the whole life cycle: from design to end of life. A new way of thinking and designing will be developed not only to increase the incorporation of recycled materials inside composite products but also to reduce uncertainties regarding their composition and potential risks, as well as gain efficiency in design and production for less energy consumption, low carbon performance, and longer life cycle. 

 

What are the most impactful outcomes of IPC’s work for the plastics sector?
  
CC: A critical outcome of IPC’s work in the plastic sector is to facilitate getting high-quality recycled plastic materials for packaging, building, automotive, and medical device applications. This will require innovating on recycling technologies, especially on waste decontamination. It will also require higher awareness and better management of substances of concern along the value chain.


 
What advice would you give to other organizations looking to expand access to sector-specific data within their industries?
  
CC: We recommend not hesitating to get started with such sectorial data creation or renewal. Participating in the steering committee of ongoing projects can also be a way to discover the processes of creating LCI datasets. We also recommend using standard formats for LCI data. For us, ecoinvent is the best, knowing that the ecoinvent team provides excellent support! 


 
Can you share upcoming events where readers can connect with you or other IPC experts?
  
CC: In the composite domain, IPC will attend FIP and JEC events in France. We participate in numerous events, and you can follow our activities and webinars on our website.