Six months, five learnings, one goal

Six months into my new role as Managing Director of Plastics Europe Germany, I paused briefly and reflected on this journey. The plastics industry is facing a massive transformation which bears challenges and opportunities.

1)???These are truly exciting times: the plastics industry is changing. Faster than ever before!

I had the privilege to join the industry in a time of massive change. The transformation towards a circular economy is happening right now and at a fast pace. This significantly affects the way we develop, source, produce, use and recycle plastics. The plastics manufacturers are the agents of change towards climate and environmental protection, the two major challenges of our time.?

2)???A perfect wave of innovation

There’s a giant wave of important innovations and leaps building up. This is affecting almost all steps of the value chain: Sourcing, production, product design as well as business modelling are all constantly being reflected and improved. More than ever, our member companies are investing in the development of new high performance and functional materials, in innovative production capacities and recycling technologies. Only recently, our members committed to invest 7.2 billion euros into the development of chemical recycling.

New collaborations between large corporates, SMEs, family business together with universities and customers are becoming the new normal. Technology leaders in the areas of automotive, e-mobility, solar and wind energy, building and construction, but also recycling all join forces to achieve common goals: Improving the functionality of high-performance materials, boosting recyclability, and ultimately enabling circularity.

?3)???Waste: a massive problem

Everyone in this industry is bothered by the massive waste problem around plastics. The global population produces two billion tons of waste every single year. Roughly ten percent of this amount is related to plastics. It is well known that parts end up in our environment. This is unacceptable and must be stopped. The problem is simple: Plastic, just like glass and metals, does not rot when it ends up in the environment. Therefore, the clear and only answer to me is: Plastics in whatever form, do not belong in the environment. As a resource they are way too valuable to end up in a landfill depository, in the soil or in the water. Plastic waste has to be collected, sorted and organized in a professional and responsible manner and by this help enabling a circular economy.

Already today, we are able to recycle almost all packaging material and even complex functional polymers can be cracked into their components or into synthetic oil. Chemical and mechanical recycling are equally important and key to a circular economy. As a responsible business, we need to employ and further develop all promising technologies, re-organize waste flow and collection systems, maybe even reinvent our own industry in order to produce and plastics in a CO2 neutral way.

4) Plastics are key for a sustainable future

I am absolutely convinced: There is a bright future for sustainable plastics and plastics are key to a sustainable economy. Functional and recyclable plastics are key for more sustainable product design and resource efficiency. In today’s electronic cars, e-bikes, trains or CO2 neutral car and plane fleets one can already witness the increased need for high performance lightweight materials. Let alone solar panels, solar thermal systems, wind turbines, but also everyday consumer products like smart phones, wearables and tablets. Thanks to innovative materials and product design, they can be produced and recycled in a responsible manner. Innovative plastics enables design for sustainability in many industries for many businesses. Helping other industries to transform however, will not be sufficient. The plastics industry must drive its own transformation tirelessly. This takes a lot of courage, foresight, curiosity, but also pragmatism and entrepreneurship, to become fully operational. At the same time, politics and society play a key part. As an innovative industry we depend on a will to win, on a will to support and drive change. Massive amounts of green energy at competitive prices, tax-based research funding, technological openness and a reliable legal framework for capex investments are all key to drive the transformation.????

5) Beyond Plastics: Why we all have to think further

Part of my new working reality is a constant exchange with entrepreneurs, executives, researchers, as well as with politicians, journalists, and critics of our industry. Many people have many different views and opinions about plastics. While some preferably see the risks, others prioritize the opportunities. I am very keen to join the leaders of our industry who deliberately chose to speak up in an open dialogue with society. It is our clear aspiration to lead an industry in a responsible manner and to live and work in a world which we clearly understand. This also means, that we are in a constant dialogue with people who care about issues but also may fundamentally disagree with us. Solving humanity’s most pressing needs and addressing the challenge of climate change in a meaningful way requires a lot of different angles and approaches from all parts of society.

There are many obstacles and barriers to cross, some of them are rooted in technology and science, some other simply in our heads. To overcome these, we’ll all have to think further, to find the courage to team up in unconventional partnerships and consider new ideas. As an industry, we are on the right path, yet, we don’t have much time to solve the challenges at hand. We need to come up with significant investments in time, resources, money, and openness. At the same time, we need to instil new trust in our power to innovate as an industry and in our ability to listen and to come up with the right conclusions.??

Therefore, I’m reaching out and invite everyone who cares about the future of a circular economy to join our conversation. Let’s speak up and drive the transformation forward together!

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