Circular Economy: moving forward together!

We believe that linear behavioral models are obsolete. Reduce, reuse, recycle must be implemented as a sustainable economic principle.

But how exactly can the realization of the Circular Economy be further accelerated? We asked our Head of Circular Economy, Dr. Christian Haessler.

Christian, currently the dark side of plastics has once again made it back into the spotlight. For example, the UN has just held another conference in Paris on the topic of plastic waste, the book "Die Plastiksucht" (The Plastic Addiction) was recently published in Germany, and the German Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale is also dedicated to the topic of waste and disposal. It’s clear to everyone that it’s time for a change. What gives you the confidence that the Circular Economy will be implemented successfully?

I am confident because so much is happening. All of the points mentioned above illustrate that we are becoming more and more engaged with the topic of the Circular Economy in a broad range of areas of society. I’d say that the Circular Economy is moving higher up the agenda for all of our stakeholder groups, whether that’s policymakers, investors, industry, or all of us as a society. And, most of all, that tells us that we all want to move away from the existing linear models: produce, consume, throw away. We want to strive for solutions that move our planet and ourselves forward. Of course, that won’t happen overnight, because the chemical industry and other sectors have relied on fossil raw materials for decades and optimized these linear value chains. We are already rapidly propelling the Circular Economy forward, but transforming existing systems across the economy will take time. However, we can see that the resource-intensive industries are moving in the same direction. That gives me great confidence.

Nevertheless, what do you think still needs to be changed – What are you currently working on?

In May, I spoke with various key players as a participant in the Handelsblatt newspaper’s ReCall Industrie web discussion. There, too, it became evident that we are already moving many things forward, and that we are doing so together, but also that we should make a greater effort to work even more intensively together throughout the entire value chain.

I outlined three requirements for acceleration that we are currently working on at Covestro:

1. We need more creative leeway. Openness to technology, meaning new technologies, is essential for the development of new recycling processes. Not all plastics can be converted back into valuable raw materials using today’s recycling processes, and that simply has to be our goal. We need new recycling processes, especially for durable resource-efficient plastics, which are crucial for a sustainable future in virtually all industries.
2. We need stronger support. Government support for new technologies and recycling quotas – at several points along the value chain – can help, because this will in turn spawn increased collaboration and innovation across the value chain. This applies to large industrial companies as well as start-ups. We urgently require this “innovative push” throughout the industry for Germany and Europe.
3. We need to do more explaining. The transition to the Circular Economy is also an enormous societal task. After all, we as a society and the end customer constitute an integral part of the cycle. Only those who clearly understand what is involved, where the benefits and challenges lie, and how they can also contribute personally will be willing to play their part.

And how exactly are you and your team contributing to this?

I believe, Covestro as a company is already entirely committed to the Circular Economy. Work is being done in all areas to implement it, and we have made really good progress in this respect. Having initiated the transition to a Circular Economy, what is needed now is the development of a clear roadmap for the coming years and even decades, despite all the imponderables of a transformation. The roadmap will chart the path to becoming fully circular – and climate-neutral, with the two going hand in hand. We provide support to all other business units as a center of competence, we define, for example, long-term goals and KPIs, initiate partnerships or selectively handle topics such as the establishment of the mass balance process at Covestro ourselves.

We have to change and bring about a transformation of society as a whole. This starts with us within the company and must become the goal for us all.

You can watch the webtalk of the Handelsblatt ReCall Industrie again here (German only): Circular Economy in der Chemieindustrie (vimeo.com)