Plastics Unwrapped

Buckle up—because circularity for luxury automotive is shifting into high gear. Just like a finely tuned Jaguar or Land Rover hugs the curves of innovation, today’s luxury rides are being re-engineered with cutting-edge materials science and sustainability at the wheel.  Host: Maithreyi Seetharaman Show Producer: Lisa Desai   Sound Production: Dow Creative Element Artwork: Dow Creative Element  

Can luxury go fully circular?  In this episode, we take the fast lane of luxury with Jaguar Land Rover JLR. JLR isn't just shifting gears—they’re redefining the entire ride. Circularity is no longer just a pit stop on the sustainability journey; it's the new engine driving innovation.  Host: Maithreyi Seetharaman Show Producer: Lisa Desai   Sound Production: Dow Creative Element Artwork: Dow Creat...

With consumers and investors demanding more sustainable products, the world is paying closer attention to what biodiversity loss means for our planet. Companies around the world are embracing these challenges as protecting biodiversity is key in preserving business success. In this episode, we are joined by 3M to discuss how we can unlock the power of people, ideas and science to drive innovation...

Biodiversity is life on earth as we know it. From our genetics and bacteria to entire ecosystems of forests and coral reefs, biodiversity is critical to all aspects of life. From food and water, to medicine, to climate stability. In this episode, we discuss the work of Jane Goodall and the Jane Goodall Institute in preserving biodiversity to secure a prosperous and stable future for this planet. ...

Is AI really the whole story of the future? In this episode, we're asking what else is on the horizon for the future of plastic waste. We are joined by the 311 Institute to hear about the game-changing trends that are reshaping industry. From AI to synthetic biology and nanotech, the 311 Institute is looking for new ways to provide all with access to the tools that shape the future.  Host: Maithre...

Data collection and analysis is a vital step in the fight to end plastic pollution. AI could hold the answers, however it also poses significant challenges. Here we discuss how AI technology is influencing research at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and at Wageningen University to see how they are overcoming these new challenges.   

With 2.7 billion people lacking access to waste management, this essential step in advancing a circular economy poses a significant challenge. In this opening episode for season 4 of Plastics Unwrapped, we look back on the previous 5 meetings of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) and discuss how we can find middle ground between industry and policy to end plastic pollution for good....

The Asia Pacific region tends to dominate the rankings and headlines in coverage surrounding global plastic waste. But the pace of innovation and change in plastics production, consumption and waste in the region has been faster than you think, led by China. In this episode Junice Yeo, Executive Director at Eco-Business, discusses the real challenges facing Asia’s disparate countries and investmen...

From compostable fashion developed in the Middle East to simplifying waste into feedstock in Switzerland to reduce fossil fuels in plastics, entrepreneurs David Roubach and Felix Bobbink share their journey of being disrupters in an industry grappling with waste management. But as Dow Global Business Director Christophe Marché explains, scaling disruptive solutions will require incumbent industry...

In Recycling and Beyond Part 2, Haley Lowry, Global Sustainability Director at Dow, and Jeroen Verhoeven, Vice President of Value Chain Development at Neste, discuss the quiet industry collaborations that are helping companies break out of their silos to achieve their sustainability targets. We explore the potential behind this collaborative approach in rebalancing carbon and circularity challenge...

In Recycling and Beyond Part 1, we explore the challenges of collecting and sorting plastic waste, and the necessity to build infrastructure while balancing the needs of communities dealing with waste. Featuring global waste management expert, author and technical editor of  UNEP’s Global Waste Management Outlook 2,  Zoë Lenkiewicz, and Regional Director in Africa for ChildFund International, Cheg...

In part two of our design thinking discussion, we delve into how design can impact a country and a company's climate goals, as up to 80% percent of a product's lifetime emissions are determined by decisions made at the design stage. With guests Rosalie McMillan, Co-founder of Smile Plastics, and Daniella Souza Miranda, Global Marketing Director at Dow, we explore how large and small businesses are...

In part one of Design Thinking Plastics, we explore the history of how designers helped plastic become a core part of modern life.  Tony Chambers, Founder of TC & Friends and former editor-in-chief of Wallpaper, delves into how design thinking is reimagining the role of plastics and how designers are pivoting to give a new life to plastics.  From the role of producers and their responsibility to h...

A sustainable future requires the creation of a circular economy for plastic, and we must build systems with decarbonisation at the core. In Episode #4 of Plastics Unwrapped, we explored how advanced recycling technologies will play a key role in accelerating a circular economy for plastic. In this episode, we take it a step further and address how this process can help us decarbonise operations....

While the industry agrees that there’s a need to decarbonize plastics, is a comparison to coal fair? In this episode, Dow’s Carolina Gregorio is in discussion with David Carroll of Plastics Europe and David Croft of Reckitt as they explore the journey the plastics industry needs to take to reach net zero emissions, and how the smallest of shifts in consumer behaviour can drastically decrease the a...

This episode explores the challenges faced by Africa’s informal waste sector, with a focus on the partnerships helping to improve the continent’s plastics value chain to enable the scaling of advanced recycling solutions. Adwoa Coleman is joined by Vivien Luk, Executive Director of non-profit organization WORK, and Cordie Aziz-Nash, founder of Environment 360, for this thought-provoking discussion...

This episode explores the role of design in enabling a circular economy for plastics, by delving into the challenges and opportunities of scaling designing for recycling solutions. Julie Zaniewski is joined in this conversation by Jay Fitzgerald from the US Department of Energy and Kathleen Liang from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. The panel discusses the role of indiv...

This episode delves into the need to reduce CO2 emissions in the plastics industry and how Dow is working towards producing circular plastics with a lower CO2 footprint. Marco Ten Bruggencate is joined by Howard Chase and Erika Sánchez Garrido, from Dow, and Kaj Embren, a sustainable development expert. They discuss why the decade between 2020 to 2030 is crucial in terms climate protection and how...

In this episode, Dow’s Director of EU Affairs, Dennis Kredler, is joined by Plastic Europe’s Director of External Affairs, David Carroll, to discuss the EU’s Green Deal and what it means for the plastics industry. Dennis and David discuss the content and ambitions of the Green Deal, the opportunities and challenges it presents for the plastic industry and what actions organisations such as Dow are...

Tune in to Episode 5 of Plastics Unwrapped to hear an open discussion on the opportunities and challenges we face with plastic waste in Africa and an exploration into how key collaborations are shifting the dial on collecting, sorting and recycling rates to build an effective circular economy. Adwoa Coleman, Africa Sustainability & Advocacy Manager from Dow’s Plastics business, joins Arese Lucia O...

In this episode, Carsten Larsen, Dow’s Commercial Director for Recycling in EMEA & APAC is  joined by Iain Gulland, CEO of Zero Waste Scotland, and Sirt Mellema, CEO of Fuenix Ecogy Group, to discuss ‘game-changing’ advanced recycling technology.  Advanced recycling takes hard-to-recycle, mixed plastic waste and breaks it down into its basic chemical elements – allowing waste to become infinitely...

Why is it so difficult to recycle plastics? What is the difference between recyclable and recycled? Why do recycling rates change so drastically from country to country and even street to street? Dow's Romain Cazenave, Marketing Director for Packaging & Specialty Plastics in EMEA, and Karin Katzer, Marketing Director in EMEA, shed light on this topic and explain how plastic manufacturers can creat...

Dow's Thomas Reutter, Product Director for Packaging & Specialty Plastics in EMEA, and Panu Routasalo, Vice President at UPM Biofuels, talk about market growth for renewable feedstocks and how this fits with the industry’s plans to reduce its carbon emissions. They discuss why approaches like mass balance are important in supporting market growth for bioplastics, as well as the industry's role in...

Dow’s  Marco ten Bruggencate, Commercial Vice President for Packaging & Specialty Plastics in EMEA, and Carsten Larsen, Commercial Director for Plastic Recycling in EMEA, are joined by Jim McClelland, Editor of SustMeme magazine, to discuss ‘Emotion versus Science’ and how that plays out in today’s debate around plastics. Our guests discuss how we can balance the emotional response we all feel whe...