Sustainable supply chain starts with the African miracle tree

The ELEMENTS newsletter is focusing on the theme of the future this time. First, it addresses the future of people living south of the Sahara. They can now utilize baobab seeds for Evonik and significantly improve their living conditions with the income. Next, it covers a completed future project: The POLYVEST plant in Marl recently successfully concluded a digitalization project. In ELEMENTS, we highlight what was important. The current episode of Foresight revolves around the more distant future. How might humanoid robots change our daily lives?

ELEMENTS Digital: https://elements.evonik.com/en.html

Oil from the African super tree

The baobab is a majestic tree. What makes it a super tree is the fact that it survives in dry conditions by storing water in its trunk and fruit when it rains and drawing it back when the dry season comes. Each specimen is therefore a stone in the wall of the "Great Green Wall", which is intended to limit the expansion of the desert. Its seeds produce a nourishing oil that Evonik can refine into a high-purity product. These seeds thus become an additional source of income for small local farmers, who can lead a more profitable and settled life. On Elements Digital, we report on the triple benefits of the super tree. Villagers also report in a video from their perspective on what the Super Tree means for them.

Read here for free: "Benefiting from the tree of life"

Theory and practice

The consensus in panel discussions is that digitalization has many advantages, but what does the reality look like? For three years, an Evonik team worked on digitalizing the production of POLYVEST?, a base material for many adhesives and sealants. The result was astonishing: carbon dioxide emissions fell, production volumes increased, and costs remained within reasonable limits.

Read here for free: "Digital Fitness"

Humanoid robots

Who doesn't dream of a tireless, always friendly little helper? The humanoid robot appears in science fiction films, comics and even mythology. But perhaps we are the first generation to get to know them. Not tomorrow, but perhaps not in the too distant future, it could extend a cold hand to us too. In "Foresight", we take a look ahead.

Read here for free: "Man and machine"

As of now, these and other new articles are available for you on "Elements".