Plastic. Climate. Future.

PVC has been around for decades — and so have many of the perceptions surrounding it. But how much has the material, and the industry behind it, changed?
In the latest episode of our series with Plastics Europe Deutschland we speak with Alexander Kronimus from VinylPlus Deutschland about taking a fresh look at PVC: where it is used, why durability matters, and how the industry is working to make an already long-lasting material more circular.
From window frames and cable insulation to medical applications and, of course, vinyl records, PVC is often an invisible part of the products and infrastructure around us.
We discuss:
Why circularity starts with smart product design — not just recycling
How durability and energy efficiency can make PVC an important material for buildings and infrastructure
How the industry is addressing legacy additives while developing new recycling technologies
How recycled and non-fossil feedstocks, renewable energy and innovation could further reduce PVC’s environmental footprint
Perhaps one of the most interesting takeaways is that sustainability isn’t simply about replacing materials. It’s about looking at their entire life cycle — how they are produced, how long they perform, and what happens when they finally reach the end of their useful life.
Sometimes that means looking at a familiar material with fresh eyes.
Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

What does it take to make industry truly future-ready?
In this episode, we speak with Gunther Weidinger, founder and chairman of Estanium and former Siemens executive, about how manufacturing can become more connected, resilient, intelligent, sustainable and people-centric — or, in one word: CRISP.
Drawing on more than three decades of industrial experience, Gunther shares why the biggest challenges facing manufacturing cannot be tackled in isolation. Digitalization, resilience, sustainability, AI and people all need to become part of the same transformation.
We discuss:
What CRISP manufacturing means — and why factories need a more holistic approach to transformation
How trusted data sharing can create transparency across complex supply chains
Why circularity can strengthen both sustainability and industrial resilience
Why technology alone is not enough — and the role trust, collaboration and people play in making transformation work
And the conversation continues in Munich!
📅 On October 20, Gunter will moderate the Munich Climate Week event “From Ambition to Implementation – How CRISP Transforms Manufacturing for a Sustainable Future”, with Matt joining the panel alongside experts from procurement, supply chain and sustainability.
The discussion will explore one of the key themes from our conversation: how companies can turn supply-chain decarbonization ambitions into measurable action.
Register here: https://luma.com/7e0f4epl
The technologies are evolving quickly. But building the future of manufacturing is about more than adopting the latest tools. It is about connecting technology, sustainability, resilience and people into one coherent industrial system.
Or, as Gunter puts it: keeping it CRISP.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts — and see you at Munich Climate Week!

Another episode of our series with Plastics Europe Deutschland is out! This time, we look at why successful recycling often starts long before a product reaches the end of its life — at the design stage.
We speak with Dr. Alexander Azzawi from Evonik about the technologies that can make plastics easier to separate, repair and recycle.
From inks that can be washed off packaging to adhesives designed to debond on demand, Alex shows how innovations at the design stage can enable higher-quality recycling and more circular material flows.
We discuss:
How de-inking technology can improve the quality of recycled plastics
How “debonding on demand” can make products easier to repair, disassemble and recycle
Why circular solutions require collaboration across the entire value chain
Why designing for recyclability is becoming increasingly important as circularity requirements reshape the market
Circularity doesn’t begin at the recycling plant. Increasingly, it begins with the choices we make when products and materials are designed.
Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Jens Hamprecht,  VP Global Plastics Steering Committee & Sustainability at BASF, about the transformation of the plastics industry and why circularity is becoming increasingly important for Europe's industrial future.
From innovative recycling technologies to reducing dependence on imported resources, Jens shares his perspective on the opportunities and challenges of building a circular plastics industry.
We discuss:
How BASF is advancing circular plastics through innovative recycling technologies and industry collaborations
Why scaling circular solutions requires market demand, investment and collaboration across the value chain
How circularity can strengthen Europe's industrial resilience and resource independence
Why clear and stable regulatory frameworks are essential to accelerate the transition
Circularity is no longer just an environmental ambition. It is becoming a strategic opportunity to strengthen Europe's industrial future.
Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

Last week in Berlin, Germany’s innovation ambitions took center stage. Our series with Plastics Europe Deutschland continues with another example of the technologies and companies shaping its industrial future.

We speak with Melanie Hackler and Eva Kamp from matterr about what happens after you develop a promising recycling technology: how do you actually scale it into an industrial business?
matterr has developed a chemical recycling process that breaks polyester-rich waste back down into its original building blocks. Those recycled monomers can then be used again in existing polyester production — turning waste into a new raw material.
But technology alone doesn’t create a circular economy. Scaling requires reliable waste streams, sorting infrastructure, customers, investment and an ecosystem capable of bringing all of those pieces together.
We discuss:
How matterr’s technology tackles complex polyester waste that conventional recycling struggles with
What it takes to move from a pilot plant to industrial scale
Why circular materials have to compete with linear production systems optimized over decades — and the role regulation and investment can play in enabling the transition
Why Germany’s infrastructure, expertise and industrial ecosystem can provide a strong foundation for scaling the next generation of circular technologies
The technology is there. The need is clear. The challenge is taking circular solutions from promising innovations to competitive industrial scale.
Because for circular technologies to matterr, they have to scale.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!