For me, Team Sonnenwagen had already won even before the race! Team Sonnenwagen had captured the hearts and minds and the collective enthusiasm of all @Covestro employees around the globe. The team grabbed its rightful first place in qualifying and set its sights on victory from the start from pole position. The Covestro team was integral in its support. Yes, support to the students via innovative material developments but also fully involved throughout the race. And the Aachen-based team did its part: With their efficient car design and sophisticated driving performance, they led from the very front in performance, in design and in resilience, guts and stamina.

#Mobility has become something we all take for granted. We move from a to b to c every day, usually without being aware of the technological means we are using. And we are often insensitive to the extent of how much has already changed in mobility and in our responsibility for the careful use of energy and resources.

Today, city buses drive electrically or with hybrid drives. Fully automated vehicles are already part of everyday traffic in the U.S., and partially automated vehicles are being used in Europe as well. AI and sensor technology allow vehicles to connect with each other and exchange information.

Challenge the #status quo

At Covestro, we want to play our part in this #transformation and in shaping the mobility of tomorrow. For example, we develop specialty plastics that protect sensitive parts of automobiles from stress, make driving safer and significantly reduce the weight of vehicles. After all, new technologies are accompanied by new demands on materials. But what do these everyday examples have to do with the great performance of Team Sonnenwagen?

Quite simply, just as "Covestro Adelie" is powered by solar energy, I believe that enthusiasm can be an equally great driver to always challenge the status quo anew. Enthusiasm for what is already possible and what we can make possible by joining forces, dedication, and skill. This enthusiasm can inspire the bright minds of tomorrow. It motivates us to courageously tackle the many miles and challenges that lie ahead.

Congratulations again to the students from RWTH Aachen and FH Aachen! We at Covestro are thrilled by your achievement and hope that the energy of your enthusiasm never leaves you.

In light of this, concerns about supply chains may seem secondary. However, they are a key factor. Export nations such as Germany are particularly dependent on stable supply chains and secure foreign trade conditions. The current crises underline that industries must hurry to build a future-proof agenda to secure revenue, growth, and jobs. This will make business more resilient against disruptions and set it up more sustainably.

Today, cargo and trade networks extend around the globe. Supply-chain shocks can turn that strength into the world economy’s greatest weakness. Climate change and economic and geopolitical upheavals are contributing to the more frequent and wider-spreading occurrence of these supply-chain shocks. Consequently, raw materials are missing, production processes come to a standstill, and goods reach their destination with immense delays. According to a recent study by McKinsey, supply-chain disruptions could cause companies to lose almost 45% of their annual profits over a ten-year period. 

Transparency through digitalization from end to end

A key factor for setting up companies against supply-chain shocks are more diversified and sustainable end-to-end supply chains. This involves a smart balance of global and regional supply networks that reduce dependence on individual companies and allow for unforeseen failures to be compensated for more easily. Whether this succeeds will ultimately also be a question of digitization. At @Covestro, we are investing in digital infrastructure to connect the entire value chain in a seamless flow of data. Supply-chain analytics optimize planning, procurement, production, and distribution while improving transparency along the entire value chain.

A truly digital transformation of business can also play a crucial role in global energy-supply security. Supply chains must not only be more diversified but also highly digitized to ensure reliable transport of alternative energy sources, such as ammonium from green hydrogen around the globe. For example, using track & trace procedures, containers can be tracked worldwide within the supply chain in real time. It is not enough for a company to establish individual digital solutions, though – only when the solutions are networked and standardized can an industry with a broad-based logistics and supplier network cooperate effectively and guarantee reliable production. So, investments in crisis-proof, sustainable supply chains will determine worldwide economic stability and the success of the energy transition.

This not only pays off in resilience, but also in reputational gain and trust: resource-efficient and thus greener logistics is a major focus of customers' and end-consumers' expectations of corporate responsibility.

We have only scratched the surface

We need to be honest and review what we have achieved so far. Right now, we have only scratched the surface. This will not do. We need to treat waste as a resource and not make it part of the problem when it is incinerated or dumped into landfills. We need to move forward and substitute fossil fuels with alternative raw materials in industrial processes. 

I often say this, as a mother of two children, and also Member of the Board of Covestro, I believe that we owe it to ourselves, to society and to future generations to stop our dependance on fossil fuels and not settle for insufficient recycling. At Covestro, we have already switched to alternative raw materials in many areas, and we will continue to do so, as the demand for alternative raw materials continues to rise on our customers’ end.

Investment in focused R&D pays off

Good journalism forces us to keep challenging ourselves as an industry. Are we doing enough to reach out to partners? To accelerate climate action? I am certain that there is so much more that we can continue to improve on. Change does not come by itself. It starts with a serious and focused investment in R&D – that pays off in the long run. Our R&D teams are working on new technologies, such as chemical recycling and pyrolysis.

At Covestro, we are in constant dialogue with governments and economies in China, Germany, and the US. We currently see climate movements and climate action policies being implemented but need to be quicker and deliver new solutions faster. We must always have the next challenge in our mind and have our eyes on the next step we are about to take.