Humanity’s most significant tasks for the coming decades are protecting our environment, conserving resources, and transitioning to renewable energy. If we want to find the solutions to avert a climate catastrophe, we need politics, business & society to join forces and work hand in hand.
Covestro set out to be a leader in the industry in helping to find these solutions and make them a reality. Whether it’s the plastics industry, think tanks, scientists, societal leaders, or politics – it is time to come together and craft the much-needed connections.
In October 2022, Covestro used the trade fair K2022 as a platform to start a journey of discussing how to transition to a circular economy & climate neutrality, led by Covestro CEO Markus Steilemann and Covestro COO Sucheta Govil.
For eight days, international experts shared their ideas, experiences, and solutions on topics like Electrification, Smart Designs, Sustainable Living, and the Circular Economy on the stage of the Covestro Arena.
The topics on stage were plentiful and covered all aspects of the Circular Economy. There was a Circular Science Slam and panel discussions on creating a diversity, equity & inclusion culture. We talked about the future of wind blade recycling, Quantum computing for the chemical industry, and how Google is pushing the limits of digital quantum hardware to study molecules & materials.
BMZ Group talked about the role of polymer materials in the future of energy storage systems, and Interzero & Neste shared their perspective on the future of the Circular Economy. We discussed how to close the loop in developing countries and how sustainable design innovations can lead to intelligent products driving the UN’s SDGs.
Plastic pollution has reached unprecedented levels worldwide. We need global measures and an internationally binding framework to combat plastic waste. A Global UN treaty on Plastic Pollution would be an essential first step.
The Circular Economy needs joint solutions. The Swiss company FREITAG has become a shining example of successful collaboration along the value chain, transforming business models using their innovative product “Circular Tarp.”
The variety of talks, discussions and presentations was amazing, and the sheer amount of ideas, solutions, and incredibly inspiring people out there in the world working on making the Circular Economy a reality is encouraging, to say the least.
Hosting the Covestro stage for these fantastic eight days left me exhausted and energized at the same time. A huge thank you to a fantastic crew and team from Covestro who created this wonderful experience for everyone visiting K2022.
And the best thing, you can still watch all the talks and discussions at Covestro’s event site.