Actively working for sustainable industrial policy in North Rhine-Westphalia

NRW policy is site policy

Covestro is firmly rooted in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). With three major production sites in Leverkusen, Dormagen and Krefeld-Uerdingen, the company is contributing to the state's value creation and prosperity. More than 6,900 people work at Covestro in NRW.

The three NRW sites are located no more than 70 kilometers apart and form a site network. In addition to the qualified employees, the strength of this network lies in particular in the modern plants with the highest safety and environmental standards, the networking of the production facilities, and synergies in the use of resources. Many products and innovations that hold their own and succeed on the global market come from the Covestro's sites in North Rhine Westphalia.

The positive development of NRW as an industrial location is of great importance to the company. That is why Covestro is committed to promoting policy solutions that foster the highest levels of competitiveness and innovation. Covestro is convinced that the best solutions can only be developed through open dialog. The company’s advocacy work reflects this belief.

Bringing expertise into policy

As a leading company in the chemical industry, Covestro takes responsibility and involves itself in the political process. The materials manufacturer provides constructive support to policy makers in North Rhine-Westphalia, introducing ideas and taking positions on issues of central importance to the industry. To this end, Covestro relies on ongoing communication with representatives of the state government and members of the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia. The company dialogs with local political decision-makers in the production site communities of Leverkusen, Dormagen, and Krefeld-Uerdingen as well.

Covestro sees itself as an active part of a broader conversation about current and future issues. That is why the company participates in numerous associations and initiatives in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is represented on the KlimaDiskurs.NRW board of directors as well as on VCI NRW, ChemCologne, and IN4Climate NRW initiative advisory boards.

Covestro’s political advocacy in North Rhine-Westphalia

As part of the chemical industry, Covestro is interested in a wide range of political and social issues. Covestro advocates energy policies that focus on sustainable and secure supplies of electricity at competitive prices; industrial policies that foster the competitiveness of companies and their acceptance in society; and economic policies that encourage to further invest in innovation. It advocates policies with an openness to technology, policies that would drive new solutions in the area of the Circular Economy and alternative raw materials, for example. And it advocates transportation policies that ensure efficient and productive infrastructure.

State policy issues from our perspective

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    Climate neutrality by 2035

    Covestro is continuing to drive forward its own transformation towards a climate-neutral production. In addition to forward-looking industrial concepts, this requires suitable regulatory framework conditions.

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    Chemical recycling

    As a pioneer in the circular economy, Covestro wants to advance the recycling of plastics with innovative technologies – chemical recycling is an important approach.

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    Industrial policy

    Covestro backs North Rhine-Westphalia on its journey to becoming the most modern and climate- and environmentally friendly industrial region in Europe.

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    Entfesselungsinitiative - for unleashing innovations

    North Rhine-Westphalia needs a political framework that promotes innovation. That is why Covestro welcomes the state government’s initiative called Entfesselungsinitiative.

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    Alternative Raw Materials

    In North Rhine-Westphalia, Covestro is researching alternatives to fossil raw materials. It already uses carbon dioxide (CO₂) as a raw material for production at the Dormagen site.

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    Circular Economy

    Going forward, Covestro will focus entirely on advancing the Circular Economy, including providing new impulses in North Rhine-Westphalia.

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    Hydrogen

    Covestro contributes expertise in building a hydrogen economy and supports lighthouse projects for the climate-neutral transformation.

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Active in North Rhine-Westphalia

Covestro is constantly on the move. For example, the company cooperates closely with universities and colleges in North Rhine-Westphalia researching to develop new products. At its production sites, Covestro is also involved in schools, training program cooperation, and local digitalization.

Covestro’s involvement in North Rhine-Westphalia also includes a newsletter and its own event formats for exchanges with political leaders, such as the site meeting with members of the state parliament whose districts are home to the region’s production sites. In addition, Covestro regularly talks to representatives of the council groups at its sites. After all, continuous exchange is important – even if there is no current issue on the political agenda.

Latest news

At its sites, in Düsseldorf, and throughout North Rhine-Westphalia: Covestro is always active.

  • State-of-the-art technical center opened

    Covestro has inaugurated its new, state-of-the-art technical center for high-viscosity technology at Chempark Leverkusen. In future, this will support the manufacturer of high-quality plastics in improving established plastic products, developing new processes and optimizing production processes.

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  • World's first pilot plant for bio-based aniline

    In the presence of NRW Minister of Economic Affairs Mona Neubaur, Covestro has commissioned a pilot plant at its Leverkusen site to produce the chemical aniline completely on the basis of plant biomass instead of crude oil for the first time. The production of larger quantities of bio-based aniline should help to further develop the new technology and transfer it to an industrial scale - a further step on the way to a circular economy.

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  • Covestro expert advises NRW on bioeconomy

    Dr. Gernot Jäger, Head of the Biotechnology Research Department at Covestro, is a member of the newly created Bioeconomy Council of the NRW state government. The 15 members of the independent body are to develop a bioeconomy strategy for North Rhine-Westphalia over the next two years.

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  • On the way to climate-neutral mobility

    Innovative material solutions from Covestro are already making an important contribution to more sustainable vehicles and infrastructures. That is why the materials manufacturer is supporting Team Sonnenwagen, a team of students from RWTH Aachen University and Aachen University of Applied Sciences, as the main sponsor for another two years.

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  • Climate-neutral production at NRW sites

    On the way to operational climate neutrality by 2035, Covestro has presented an action plan for its three NRW sites. The focus is on the use of 100% renewable energy sources, climate-neutral steam generation and a significant increase in energy efficiency.

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  • Low-water vessel "COURAGE" in operation

    Covestro and HGK Shipping GmbH put the new low-water vessel "COURAGE" into operation at the beginning of March 2023. The modern low-water vessel has a particularly efficient diesel-electric propulsion system and can also be converted to new propulsion systems such as hydrogen.

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  • Hydrogen initiative / KlimaDiskurs.NRW

    Covestro is a co-founder of the “Future Hydrogen.NRW” initiative. The initiative aims to provide constructive support for the development and expansion of a hydrogen economy in North Rhine-Westphalia.

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Contact Person

Florian Frankenau

Florian Frankenau

Head of Politics at Covestro in North Rhine-Westphalia

nrwpolitik@covestro.com

Related topics

Curious? You can find further information on important topics related to Covestro Germany here.

  • Germany

    Federal politics

    The Liaison Office in Berlin links Covestro to German policy makers. It allows the company to participate more closely in political and regulatory debates.

  • Germany

    Public Affairs

    Covestro‘s political advocacy activities abide by the Group directives “Responsible Lobbying” and “Corporate Compliance.

  • Germany

    Neighborhood

    Social responsibility is a key focus at Covestro. Learn more about our donation and sponsoring activities.

  • Germany

    Sites

    Around 7.800 employees work for Covestro at six sites in Germany.

  • Germany

    Sustainability & Innovation

    In the development of its new materials and products, Covestro relies on the innovative strength of its employees.

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