Jerry MacCleary, chairman and CEO of Covestro LLC, will be a featured speaker at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s (USCCF) Fourth Annual Sustainability and Circular Economy Summit, held May 9 in Washington, D.C.
In his address, titled "Pushing Boundaries, Fresh Perspectives on the Circular Economy: How Covestro is Using Carbon and People to Drive Sustainability," MacCleary will discuss the company’s decision to embed sustainability into its core business, innovation and social strategy at the outset and how that decision is creating value for the company today.
Since its establishment in 2015, Covestro has devised a number of scientific and social innovation approaches designed to use resources as efficiently and productively as possible to close the loop on the circular economy. MacCleary will detail those approaches, including the company’s breakthrough innovation to bring waste carbon back into the value chain for use as a raw material to manufacture flexible polyurethane foam used in mattresses and furniture.
In 2016, Covestro opened a production facility in Dormagen, Germany, dedicated solely to producing this CO2-based foam polyol. In 2017, the company also announced a new consortium of 14 European partners who are exploring the capture of waste CO2 from steel plants to use as the raw material to make high-performance plastics.
MacCleary also will highlight the company’s sustainability and social purpose work with organizations, such as the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Global Compact, the American Chemistry Council and Sustainable Pittsburgh.
The theme for this year’s USCCF’s Sustainability and Circular Economy Summit is Translating Value to Ignite Action. The annual event attracts hundreds of thought leaders and practitioners from business, government, academia and nonprofit organizations.