Driven by escalating consumer expectations and regulatory demands, there is a growing imperative to quantify the use of sustainable materials and their corresponding carbon footprint data across the value chain. This endeavor requires not only close cooperation throughout the value chain but also access to tools that facilitate traceability. Covestro, a leading materials manufacturer, has embraced this challenge by partnering with Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence arm of Alibaba Group. Together, they aim to provide crucial solutions and tools to enhance transparency in the supply chain, starting with industries in Asia, by enabling carbon accounting and tracing for sustainable materials.
In this collaboration, Covestro is tasked with offering more sustainable plastic solutions alongside their carbon footprint data. Alibaba Cloud’s Energy Expert, an AI-powered sustainability platform, plays a pivotal role in achieving comprehensive life cycle emission accounting, from recycled materials to final consumer products, leveraging digital technologies like blockchain. It also offers an end-to-end solution for industrial companies to measure and optimize their carbon footprint across their production lifecycle.
Lily Wang, Global Head of the Engineering Plastics Business Entity at Covestro, emphasizes their commitment to driving circularity and climate neutrality: “As a materials manufacturer with a high focus on sustainable material innovation, Covestro is committed to driving circularity and climate neutrality. Our collaboration with Alibaba Cloud marks a significant milestone in our journey towards a circular and climate-neutral future. With our joint solutions, we are supporting our customers to improve their supply chain transparency while building trust among environmentally conscious consumers, thereby driving industries towards a greener future.”
William Xiong, Vice President of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, expresses pride in the partnership: “We are proud to partner with Covestro in pioneering sustainable solutions that drive positive environmental impact. By leveraging our advanced cloud infrastructure and expertise in sustainability technology, we are enabling value chain partners to trace materials with enhanced transparency and efficiency as well as to optimize their carbon footprint to achieve their sustainability target. This partnership exemplifies the transformative power of technology in creating a more sustainable future.”
The joint solutions have already found success in the consumer goods sector. For instance, Covestro collaborated with China’s leading beverage maker Nongfu Spring to recycle its 19-liter water barrels into post-consumer recycled polycarbonate. This recycled material was then used by KACO, a niche stationary brand in China, to manufacture gel pens. Through Alibaba Cloud Energy Expert’s carbon emission accounting and digital tools, consumers can scan a QR code on the pen packaging to trace the material’s origin, view a detailed breakdown of the carbon footprint at each production stage, and see the amount of carbon emissions saved compared to using virgin materials.
