Jan Roos is Director Energy Transition and Sustainable Development at Teijin Aramid. In this article, he explains why keeping an open mind is key to creating a circular and sustainable aramid chain.
“Like everyone at Teijin Aramid, I want to make a positive difference for future generations. We have made a promise to our employees, customers, and other stakeholders to achieve a fully sustainable, circular aramid chain. I am delighted to see our company and its partners moving steadily closer to this vision”.
Our products and production facilities provide an excellent starting point for us to help create a more sustainable world. From here, we have been able to look outwards – there are endless opportunities out there to collaborate with partners who share our sustainability ambitions.
We are moving in the right direction, but we still have a lot further to go to achieve our ambitions. We are part of an aramid value chain that mainly operates based on a traditional linear model. I still see too many applications being thrown away or incinerated at their end of life. Meanwhile, we still use fossil fuels and other finite materials to make Teijin Aramid products.
Together with our partners, we have an opportunity to help change the way things are done throughout the value chain. For example, we are pushing forward with new recycling and energy transition strategies. The goal is to realize a fully circular aramid chain, running on renewable energy.
Together, we can close the chain
We are now working with our partners to ‘close the chain’. Together, we want to move toward a circular model in terms of how we work with materials and waste. We are constantly exploring new ways to integrate bio-based and recycled materials into our production processes. And we are working with customers to reintroduce end-of-life products into the aramid value chain as reusable materials.
But we cannot do it alone, of course. Success will depend on the willingness and readiness of our customers, suppliers, and other partners. Just as our products help our customers improve their environmental impact, our materials and utility providers can help us use energy and resources more sustainably. We see potential for exciting new partnerships and initiatives in the long term.
Our minds are always open to innovative ideas. Most of all, we are looking forward to linking up with innovative, like-minded organizations globally. For Teijin Aramid, the future is circular!”
“Day by day, we are exploring new ways to integrate bio-based and recycled materials into our production processes”