November 20, 2024

By Han Hendriks, Senior Vice President, Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer

Every day we see more and more in the news about the impact of climate change on our communities, greenhouse gas emissions on air quality, and plastic waste on the environment. Companies around the world have a unique responsibility to champion strategies that protect our planet and communities, meet evolving regulatory demands, and, at the same time, deliver real business value.

At Trinseo, this is happening through our vision to replace fossil feedstocks with circular ones that balance environmental benefits with performance. The only way to achieve this is by investing in a robust sustainability strategy and ecosystems that advance our 2030 Sustainability Goals. Through this work, we are revolutionizing how our company connects with customers, suppliers, value chain and other stakeholders.

Whether part of the plastics industry or not, I urge companies to evaluate how they impact the planet and their people. Here are five reasons why every company should have a sustainability strategy.

Integrity as a Company

Sustainability is a cornerstone of a business model that truly values integrity. Companies that prioritize sustainability recognize their responsibility to align profits with people and the planet. When sustainability is embedded in corporate values, it ensures that your company’s actions align with your mission, vision, and branding, which fosters trust and credibility among stakeholders.

At Trinseo, we show accountability through our annual Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility Report, which highlights the progress we have made against our 2030 Sustainability Goals. By prioritizing integrity, we demonstrate our dedication to ethical business practices and reinforce our role as leaders committed to a sustainable future.

Sustainability Reporting

No matter where you are in the world, sustainability reporting is evolving to become more transparent. Whether it is the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive in Europe or the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States, these regulations are revolutionizing how we report on sustainability so that data is more comparable and at the same time reduce ‘greenwashing’.

These changes in sustainability reporting will factor into how stakeholders view your company. Reporting is also increasingly important to investors, as they look at how companies are leveraging these regulations to improve the environmental impact, reduce their climate risks, and support human rights – while also growing their business.

Competitiveness & Profitability

Demand for sustainably advantaged materials is growing, especially with the European Clean Industrial Deal, as well as other policy initiatives like Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Regulation, and the forthcoming End-of-Life Vehicle Directive coming into play.

Companies must be ready to meet demand with innovation, which takes time and financial investment. As we advance toward a more circular economy, it takes planning; the time to do that is now. With regulations focused on building a more circular economy, value chains and materials, Trinseo is investing in polymer-to-polymer and polymer-to-monomer recycling technologies as part of our sustainability strategy.

This approach has enabled us to develop complementary recycling technologies for polycarbonate and polymethyl methacrylate that expand the end products that can become waste feedstocks.

Driving Change

Circularity means we need to work collaboratively with all the parties in the value chain. It requires new ways of thinking and working, but the economy will move toward this. By investing in a sustainability strategy now, companies can take a leading role in driving that evolution and helping to shape the future of their industry.

Motivating Employees

A successful sustainability strategy will not only engage outside stakeholders but also provides purpose and motivates current and future employees. They play a critical role in moving the strategy forward, because everyone can and should contribute to driving change at the company. The small changes drive bigger results.

For example, Trinseo employees have driven our Scope 1 & 2 greenhouse gas emission reduction projects, helping to identify approaches where we can reduce our environmental impact. An example of this is our acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and latex binders manufacturing facilities in Zhangjiagang, China, which replaced diesel with natural gas to operate the facility. We also encourage employees to contribute individually through simple sustainability actions in our daily lives. A sustainability strategy can help bring employees together toward a common goal.

Companies have an important role to play in the transition to a circular economy and the mitigation of climate change, and I challenge you to accelerate your efforts in reducing your impact. Developing a sustainability strategy not only lends to a company’s credibility, but it can also unite your workforce and drive change for a better tomorrow.