Sony has created the world’s first global supply chain spanning five countries to produce renewable plastics for its high-performance audio-visual products.

It’s done in collaboration with a group of leading partners, including Mitsubishi, Adeka, Chimei, Eneos, Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corporation, Hanwha Impact, Idemitsu Kosan, Mitsui Chemicals, Neste, Qingdao Haier New Material Development, SK Geo Centric, Toray Industries, and Toray Advanced Materials Korea.

These products require plastics with advanced properties, including flame resistance and optical performance, which cannot be fully replaced by recycled plastics, complicating supply chain management.

The 14 companies collaborated to visualise and redesign the supply chain, enabling the production of multiple renewable plastics from biomass using a mass balance approach.

This ensures materials meet the quality and performance of virgin fossil-based plastics, while allowing the tracking and documentation of greenhouse gas emissions throughout the supply chain. These data help participating companies reduce their carbon footprint.

This effort is part of Sony and Mitsubishi Corporation’s "Creating NEW from reNEWable materials" initiative, aimed at eliminating virgin fossil-based plastics in Sony products.

By defining a transparent, multi-company supply chain, the project advances renewable plastic adoption and strengthens sustainability efforts for high-performance applications.

The partners will continue promoting renewable plastics across audio-visual and other high-performance products globally, supporting a shift toward a circular, low-carbon economy and reinforcing commitments to environmental responsibility and innovation in materials development.