Driven by consumer expectations and regulatory requirements, it is becoming increasingly important to measure the use of sustainable materials and carbon footprint data along the value chain. To do this, calculation methods must be consistently ensured to enable traceability. Covestro is tackling this challenge in a partnership with Alibaba Cloud, the technology and information division of the Chinese Alibaba Group.
As part of this partnership, Covestro aims to provide more sustainable plastic solutions with carbon footprint data. This data will then be utilised by Alibaba Cloud’s Energy Expert. “Energy Expert is an AI-driven sustainability platform that uses digital technologies such as blockchain to calculate the total carbon footprint of end products, including data from the materials used. The platform also offers an end-to-end solution for industrial companies to measure their carbon footprint across the entire production cycle.
“As a materials manufacturer with a strong focus on sustainable innovation, Covestro is committed to promoting the circular economy and climate neutrality. Our collaboration with Alibaba Cloud is a significant milestone on our journey towards a circular and climate-neutral future,” says Lily Wang, Head of the Engineering Plastics business unit at Covestro. “With partnerships like this, we are helping our customers improve transparency in their value chain while building trust with environmentally conscious consumers. This is how we can lead the industry to a greener future.”
“We are proud of this collaboration. Together with Covestro, we are working on forward-looking, sustainable solutions that have a positive impact on the environment,” says William Xiong, Vice President of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence. “By leveraging our advanced cloud infrastructure and expertise in sustainability technology, we enable partners along the value chain to track materials with improved transparency and efficiency. This makes it easier for everyone involved to optimise their carbon footprint and achieve their sustainability goals. This partnership is an example of the transformative power of technology in creating a more sustainable future.”
Alibaba Cloud
Alibaba Cloud was founded in 2009 and forms the backbone of the Alibaba Group for digital technology and information. It offers a range of cloud services worldwide, including elastic computing, databases, storage, network virtualisation services, large-scale computing, security, big data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence. According to Gartner, Alibaba has been the leading IaaS provider in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of revenue in US dollars since 2018.
Covestro
Covestro is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-quality plastics and their components. With innovative products and processes, the company contributes to sustainability and quality of life in many areas. Covestro supplies customers in key industries such as mobility, construction and housing as well as electrical and electronics. Covestro’s polymers are also used in areas such as sports and leisure, telecommunications, healthcare and the chemical industry. The company has 48 production sites worldwide and employs around 17,500 people.