Climate change, dwindling resources, disturbed ecosystems: Planet Earth is being thrown off balance, with six out of nine planetary limits being exceeded. New directions and solutions are needed. Above all, consumption and production must come into complete alignment with the Circular Economy – and waste must be seen as a sustainable raw material.

The Circular Economy must become the world’s new guiding principle for the economy and society. Plastics will play a crucial role here due to their high sustainability potential. Covestro wants to focus all its efforts on the Circular Economy and become a shaping force for the entire plastics industry.

Extract raw materials, produce, consume, dispose – this sort of economic activity is a one-way street. The conventional linear economy is no longer compatible with today’s global challenges and is failing in terms of efforts to preserve our planet.

Consumers and companies must be more mindful of our limited resources and make the Circular Economy their new guiding principle: using products for as long as possible, repairing more of them and thereby preventing waste. End-of-life products and waste should be treated and used as resources – along the entire value chain. In addition, other sustainable sources of raw materials such as biomass must be developed. With the help of renewable energy, manufacturing processes and products become circular and climate-neutral – the key to creating a truly sustainable world.

The Circular Economy is a project that is gaining traction and will impact the future of society as a whole. With a concerted effort, the world could become a healthier and cleaner place that is environmentally and climate-friendly. The plastics industry can and must support this transition to the Circular Economy. Plastic is used practically everywhere and is the key to the solution many of humanity’s urgent challenges.

Covestro as a Pioneer

With its entrepreneurial vision of becoming fully circular, Covestro intends to realize this large global project – in the interest of its customers, suppliers, partners and the whole of society. At the same time, Covestro is striving for climate neutrality by 2050 . By then the company hopes to have achieved net zero emissions from its own production and purchased energy as well as from upstream and downstream stages in the value chain.

Alternative Raw Materials, Innovative Recycling

With its strategic program, Covestro aims to manufacture plastics and their components as environmentally friendly and climate-neutrally as possible to reduce its ecological footprint. Over their entire life cycle, plastics are responsible for 3.4 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, Covestro is using more non-fossil raw materials and renewable energy in its production. The materials manufacturer is also developing innovative, energy-efficient technologies for improving and promoting the mechanical and chemical recycling of end-of-life products and unavoidable waste. This requires designing products and processes that are ideal for the Circular Economy.

Covestro is already cooperating with stakeholders in all areas of the value chain and is forming new partnerships to find the best solutions for the Circular Economy. The company also aims to develop new business models through value-creating collaborations.

Digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing and research fields such as biotechnology and electrochemistry are also heavily utilized at Covestro in order to establish and further develop the Circular Economy.