A wide variety of renewable raw materials

We use a wide variety of sustainably-produced raw materials each year to produce our renewable products at our renewables refineries in Finland, the Netherlands and Singapore. Proportions of individual raw materials in Neste's refining vary from year to year, depending on their availability, price, and specific market requirements, for example. 

An extensive portfolio of globally-sourced raw materials provides flexibility, as it allows us to respond to the needs of different markets and customers. Our proprietary NEXBTL technology enables the use of a wide variety renewable fats and oils in the production of renewable products. Our renewable products are always of premium quality, regardless of the raw materials we use in their production. 

We are constantly looking into diversifying our portfolio with new raw materials. Replacing fossil oil with renewable and recycled raw materials helps to reduce crude oil dependency, greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. 

Waste and residue raw materials at center stage

Neste has focused on waste and residue raw materials for over a decade, and they account for over 90% of Neste’s total renewable raw material inputs globally. In the mid- to longer term, Neste expects to introduce, e.g. novel vegetable oils derived from advanced, more sustainable agricultural concepts to its raw material portfolio.

All our refineries producing renewables are technically capable of running on 100% waste and residue raw materials. We reached this capability already in 2015.

Waste and residues in Neste's raw material portfolio:

  • animal fat from food industry waste
  • used cooking oil 
  • vegetable oil processing waste and residues (e.g., palm fatty acid distillate, spent bleaching earth oil, palm effluent sludge)
  • fish fat from fish processing waste
  • tall oil based raw materials
  • technical corn oil (a residue from ethanol production)

No matter which raw materials from our extensive portfolio are used, our renewable products enable significant greenhouse gas emission reductions over their life cycle when replacing the use of fossil alternatives. For example, with Neste MY Renewable Diesel™, the GHG emissions can be reduced by as much as 75-95%* when emissions over the fuel's life cycle are compared with fossil diesel.

*) The GHG emission reduction varies depending on the region-specific legislation that provides the methodology for the calculations (e.g. EU RED II 2018/2001/EU for Europe and US California LCFS for the US), and the raw material mix used to manufacture the product for each market. 

Use of conventional vegetable oils reduced, share of palm oil to 0% by 2023

In 2022, the share of conventional vegetable oils of our global renewable raw materials inputs was approximately 5%, with 100% certified palm oil representing around 4%. Neste plans to reduce the share of conventional palm oil to zero of its global renewable raw material inputs by the end of 2023. The share of waste and residue raw materials is expected to stay above 90% of Neste’s global renewable raw material inputs globally in the coming years, while in the longer term, the growth in novel vegetable oils’ availability may increase the share of sustainably produced vegetable oils. 

Vegetable oils in Neste’s raw material portfolio:

  • palm oil
  • rapeseed oil
  • soybean oil
  • camelina oil (limited use in a project)

In the mid- to longer term we aim to introduce novel vegetable oils (NVO) from advanced agricultural concepts to our raw material portfolio. 

Sustainability is key

We accept only sustainably-produced raw materials from carefully selected suppliers. All Neste’s products, and the raw materials we use in their production, always meet the legal sustainability requirements set by local authorities in our markets. Our suppliers' commitment to sustainability, protecting biodiversity, and respecting human rights are absolute requirements that must be met before any contract is signed.

Over the past few years, we have been strengthening our local presence in the regions where we source raw materials. It provides us with better visibility into the supply chain, enables closer engagement with our suppliers, and provides us with more control to ensure high level sustainability performance. 

Read more about how we ensure sustainability of our raw materials and our criteria for our suppliers.