PCX Solutions launched a public consultation for the Alternative Material Certificate (AMC) Standard and Methodology, to provide an opportunity for all stakeholders to contribute in validating this framework.

 

Scaling the Use of Sustainable Materials

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Alternative materials are struggling to compete with the unpriced environmental costs of plastic. To accelerate the shift to circular material alternatives and decrease fossil-based plastic use, PCX Solutions has developed the Alternative Material Certificate (AMC) Framework to make sustainable materials economically competitive and ready for global scale. 

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What is the Alternative Material Certificate?

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The Alternative Material Certificate (AMC) is a finance mechanism designed to bridge the price gap between alternative materials and fossil-based plastic, incentivizing a more rapid uptake of sustainable materials. Via this transparent and third-party audited mechanism, capital flows as a subsidy from certificate buyers to alternative material manufacturers, transformers, and market facilitators, covering the higher production, collection, and processing costs of alternative materials. 

 

The AMC Standard and Methodology 

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The AMC Standard establishes the normative framework and qualitative requirements necessary for Project Applicants to qualify for the issuance of Alternative Material Certificates (AMCs). It defines the environmental and social safeguards and provides operational guidance to ensure high-integrity material substitution.

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The AMC Methodology defines the technical protocols, data requirements, and formulas to quantify the monetary value of an AMC. It produces a verified unit that integrates two distinct components: (1) the "Price Gap" adjusted for the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI), inspired by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation; and (2) the OPEX for logistics of post-consumer AM recovery, adjusted by the transition efficiency. ​

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If you want to learn more about AMC, or please reach out to us at standards@pcxsolutions.org.