Covestro signed the Green Recovery agreement

“We cannot afford to waste a good crisis. It's the opportunity to do things we didn't think we could do before." This phrase, now famous, is by Rahm Emanuel, who was Head of the Cabinet in the White House.
Resources of unprecedented proportions have been mobilized to deal with the global crisis triggered by Covid-19. The goal today is to limit the effects not only on the health level, but above all on the economic and labor market. This crisis comes at a time when some political and productive players had already implemented strategies in response to the challenges of climate change and the loss of biodiversity. And the scientific community reiterates that continuing on this path is fundamental to prevent other serious crises.

In December 2019, the European Commission had presented the European Green Deal. The goal was to become, by 2050, the first climate-neutral continent in the world. The European Parliament was determined to launch a new growth strategy. A strategy to return more in terms of resources than human activity takes to the planet.

In the midst of the Covid-19 epidemic, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, resumes that project:

With the Green Deal as a compass, we can transform the crisis caused by the pandemic into an opportunity to rebuild our economies in a different way and make them more resilient. And also in order to leave a better place for our children.

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A new alliance for Green Recovery

Last April a group of politicians, CEOs and researchers joined together to urge the European Union to think about regrowth after the pandemic with inclusive and sustainable values.

The initiative is led by Pascal Canfin, president of the European Commission for the environment, health and food safety. Together we want to push the EU to promote investments in projects that would put Europe on track to achieve the Green Deal goal.

The group of 180 politicians, entrepreneurs, researchers and non-governmental organizations has worked to define a strategy for exiting the coronavirus crisis together. They discussed measures worth € 500 billion that can help mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic.

"Here we have to push for effective implementation", said the 180 in a note. “We already have the plans and the strategy. Projects like the European Green Deal and other national zero carbon development plans have enormous potential to rebuild our economy and help create a new model of prosperity".

Markus Steilemann, CEO of Covestro, is among the 180 signatories to the Green Recovery Pact. He has declared:

The crisis generated by the coronavirus is testing the whole world. It is an appeal to solidarity, to the protection of our health, to our commitment to rebuild the economy. I signed the call for Green Recovery at European level because Covestro is already ready to promote a more sustainable model of growth.

The financial resources that the European Union will make available to overcome the crisis can become the accelerator of a green and inclusive recovery. Plans can become opportunities to strengthen transformation trajectories.

The Green Recovery agenda is perfectly consistent with the guidelines that Covestro has set since its foundation and with the research and innovation activities that guide the company.

The first opportunity we work on is to protect the environment through emission reduction practices with:

• development and use of new materials for energy renovation of homes and buildings, public and private tertiary; Discover the building materials
• development of low-emission mobility, electric vehicles, public mobility infrastructure; Discover the automotive materials
• expansion of the use of renewable and low CO2 emissions energy. CO2 as raw material
• In these sectors, any public financial effort is a powerful lever for private investment and makes them the best candidates for a quick recovery.

The second opportunity is to reduce the carbon footprint in production cycles with the development of a circular economy that also pays attention to local resources.

The third opportunity, which will have enormous effects in the medium and long term, consists in multiplying research and innovation efforts, to create products and solutions for the future.

Economic recovery must be conducted on sustainable and resilient trajectories. By moving collectively, we will be able to preserve health and relaunch our work tools. We will be able to carry out the transformations necessary to provide our children with a livable planet and human, economic and social prosperity. We turn the current tests we face into an opportunity for everyone. We put the environment at the center of the collective rebirth with the "pushing boundaries" attitude that has always distinguished the soul of Covestro.

Discover the sectors in which Covestro is committed to providing sustainable solutions