Sustainable polymer reaction engineering: Are we there yet?

Abstract Polymers are a class of materials that provide unparalleled benefits to humanity, fulfilling countless needs in an exceedingly broad range of applications. Because of their ubiquity and current ways of producing them, polymers also pose significant challenges to the environment. Inspired by a previous publication on sustainable polymer reaction engineering, an update is provided on the latest trends in the use of renewable starting materials for polymers, efforts in process intensification and water‐based polymerization, as well as approaches to dealing with the end of the polymers' application life. We seek to answer the question about how far along we are regarding the achievement of completely sustainable polymer processes.