Ideagen Radio
Ideagen Radio
2025 Global Leadership Summit: Daniel Kochik on The Hidden Infrastructure Of Sustainability
Ever wondered how a passport stays secure, an EV gains range, or a phone camera keeps getting sharper without getting heavier? At the Ideagen Global Leadership Summit, we sat down with Daniel Kochik, Government Affairs Manager at Covestro LLC, to pull back the curtain on the materials that quietly make modern life possible—and what it takes to reinvent them for a lower-carbon future. From polyurethane foams in your chair to polycarbonate in your lenses, these products live within arm’s reach, yet their evolution hinges on decisions about feedstocks, energy, and policy that most of us never see.
We explore how customers now demand sustainability as a core feature—verifiable, traceable, and delivered without sacrificing performance. Daniel explains how Covestro is scaling alternative feedstocks, meeting rigorous global standards, and designing polymers that enable lighter, safer electric vehicles, more efficient data centers, and durable renewable energy infrastructure. The conversation also tackles the realities of investing in long-lived manufacturing assets: why policy certainty matters, how energy pricing shapes competitiveness, and what an “enabling environment” looks like when you balance innovation with responsible regulation.
Looking ahead, we discuss the promise of U.S. manufacturing, the role of AI in material discovery and plant reliability, and the circular economy strategies that keep value in the loop. It’s a grounded, optimistic take on leadership in times of rapid change—where performance, accountability, and smart policy intersect to unlock the next wave of clean growth.
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Ladies and gentlemen, we're number Demek here, live at the Nemes Demek for the Idea Gen Global Leadership Summit. I'm honored to have with me today, Mr. Dynam Kochik from Kovestro. Dinnan, welcome. Hi Morgan.
SPEAKER_01:Good George. Good to see you. Thank you.
SPEAKER_00:Well, Dan, you know, it's an interesting time. We're live here at the Nemes Demek and the side of the lines of the United Nations General Assembly. And Covestro is doing incredible work across the planet and right here in the United States of America. I want to ask you, you're operating at the intersection of material science and innovation. What role do you see for advanced materials in addressing some of today's biggest global challenges? Everything from climate change to digital transformation. Sure.
SPEAKER_01:Just a little bit about Covestro. Covestro is one of the world's leading producers of materials used in everyday items. So think of polyurethane foams, which are used in mattresses and chairs, your tennis shoes, for example, polycarbonate in your eyeglasses, for example. And so we're a German company. We have about 3,000 employees across the United States. And we're constantly innovating to meet the market demands for the products that you and I consume every day. So, you know, your computer, for example, will have our plastics in it. And with all the new technology and the rapid pace of the changes that these different requirements for new products are, we're constantly innovating to meet our customers' demands. And one of the big challenges, of course, is that our customers expect sustainability to be part of our ethos as we're building this into our products. And so when you buy, for example, an automobile, the automaker wants to ensure that they can say with certainty that this pro this vehicle is made with materials that are sustainably produced. And so we're taking massive leaps in that direction. One of the big things that we've pioneered in the United States and are really innovating around are using different types of feedstocks to make different types of plastics. So, in other words, the materials that go into them aren't aren't all going to be fossil-based in the future. And that's something that our customers want. And so I think for us as a company, we see that as a real opportunity to continue to grow, looking at different ways to make our plastics and our materials. And also more broadly, just from our own operations as a company, committing to reducing our emissions, making sure that our overall footprint meets the requirements of both our customers, also of our shareholders in the United States.
SPEAKER_00:Incredible. I am very familiar, as you know, with Covestro and the work you're doing. And what is the what is the distance that you would you usually have a Covestro product from you? Yeah, we always say you're never six feet away from a Covestro product. Never six feet away from a Covestro product. And what's what are some of the other types of uh products? I know the headlamps in vehicles.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, pretty much anything in the car you came to today. Right. The US passports is one of the plastic used for that. Identification cards for driver's licenses, for example, um pieces of your phone, for example, some of the the on the camera lens would be another example of a product that that we would supply into. And so really everything you touch, your laptop, uh the screen, uh some of the films that are used to make that. So really a very diverse product range. I think we have over 10,000 different product offerings in the United States. And so 10,000. Yeah, in our product catalog. So really an impressive portfolio. Um and again, uh something that is interesting about the chemical company is we're one of those companies that you may touch our products every day and not know it. Um and so we don't have the same end experience that you would with your iPhone, for example. But at the at the end of the day, all of our products make those products possible. We help to enable the new technologies. And if we look toward the future, as automobiles are transitioning to electric vehicles, the construction of new data centers that need better insulating materials, companies are looking to us to innovate those materials for them. And so I'm a perfect example of that is the battery in an electric vehicle. Without using our types of plastics, just not only for that, but also the car itself, the weight becomes a restriction. And so there's a lot of transition away from the traditional materials used to make that to new high-tech, lighter weight polymers. Um, think of solar panels as another example, or wind blades on uh turbines.
SPEAKER_00:Um, and so Cavestro is leading the way. Where are you headquartered here in the United States?
SPEAKER_01:So here in the United States, or our North America headquarters are in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Globally, we're based in Leverkusen, Germany.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And so, Dan, you've spent nearly a decade, gosh, working in government affairs and policy analysis in Washington, D.C. What a fun, fun, fun job, isn't it? Never ends, you know. And so, how is Cavestro positioning itself on key issues like what you alluded to chemical safety, plastic waste mitigation, and the circular economy policy that is being discussed in D.C.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think right now is such an interesting time for companies trying to evolve to the different realities of a new administration, which has very different priorities. You know, for us, I think top of mind trade is really a huge, a huge topic for us right now, and we're trying to still understand what some of those realities for us as a company are. Um, I think also, though, you know, that the ongoing changes on some of the environmental regulations we've been adopting to make sure that we're not only meeting our standards here, but also meeting our global standards. So as a European-based company, we have very different a different approach at the at the global level than a lot of our peers here in the United States do. And so we do meet those global standards. And I think for us it really is, like I said, trying to ensure that we're always putting people, uh, people and pro uh ahead of profit as a company. And so for us, our constant innovation model is to continually improve and build to meet those demands that are new realities.
SPEAKER_00:And fair global competition and all the things that come along with that, which uh is not always simple, uh, but something that that is important, right?
unknown:Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00:And so you have some challenges and some opportunities, right? And so in aligning your priorities, uh, whether it's federal legislation, specifically in tax trade, and transportation, what are some of the the sort of tactics that you're utilizing to make sure that you stay at the fore of making sure that you know Cavestro is profitable and helping to change the world?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think really the top of mind is, you know, and it all starts from within. Our team is really growing using new tools, um, new data sources, really being able to get ahead of and understand these sometimes very complicated regulatory proposals, uh, but also working very closely with our outside council and consultants and making sure that we're um constantly evolving to meet these very interesting and intricate, as you know, uh rulemaking actions and legislative priorities.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Yeah. So from your experience in engaging with these policymakers in Washington, what do you see as a message that resonates the most when advocating for more, let's say, innovation in chemical uh related matters?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think we we need an enabling environment, as we say, right? We need to not only have the policy environment that that allows for uh the United States to remain competitive as a chemical producer. I mean, we're, you know, when we make an investment as a company, we're looking at the long term. It's not a five-year quick turnaround on a on the return on a new facility, for example. If we're looking at the long-term, decades-long type of investment. And so we have to convince our shareholders and stakeholders internally that the US is the place to do business if we're interested in continuing to grow here. Um and so we really need those policies, both both at the federal and at the state and local level, um, that ensure that companies are incented to make the right uh investments here in the US. But also I think making sure that that the energy, I mean, energy is top of mind for us. Um, you know, energy costs are a huge portion of what goes into our into our calculus of what our pro what we can reliably sell our products for. And so we have to continue to ensure that energy policies support our company, um, you know, and constantly understanding the regulations. Like I said, that's more the the challenge is keeping up and making sure that we're able to adopt and adapt to the new realities that come up really every day.
SPEAKER_00:And as a as a new this your administration, I know has um focused on deregulation. Yeah, and uh one for ten or so. Um so that's maybe helpful in some ways to um to make sure we introduce a piece of um uh uh a regulation that um you're getting rid of some other ones so that you're balancing out how much regulation because that regulatory burden I I know is challenging. It's extremely challenging. And like you said, understanding it, what does it mean? Like what's this new regulation and the time it takes and the you know the impact it has on a company?
SPEAKER_01:So and with that, just the the constant need for certainty. I mean, I think for us, we're like I said, you know, we we kind of from different administration or from uh shifts in the political headwinds, our priorities very much change, but our our core mission stays the same. That we need to continue to produce products that meet our standards and our customers' standards. And so we have to rely on our own um ability to continue to uh to make those products, but also rely on our outside um, the outside environment to help influence how we make those decisions.
SPEAKER_00:Well look, I'm familiar with Covestrooms, you know, and a huge fan uh of everything you're doing, both in the United States and around the world. And it in it literally, you wouldn't be able, you're not sitting more than six feet from a Covestro product, the the laminate on tables here, the walls, the rugs, you know, just about everything, right? Yeah, really everything. So looking ahead, what is it, Dan, that excites you about Covestro's future? There's so much, I know. There's a lot. There's a lot. And what message would you like to leave behind here with our global audience live at NASDAQ and across the world about what leadership uh in these times means? Yeah, of course.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, I think for us, we're really looking forward to being continuing to be the innovator for a lot of the products that will enable the future. So, as I mentioned, electric vehicles, for example, new different types of technologies that rely on high-tech, sustainable materials that are also able to meet the performance standards. And so that really looking forward is a great opening for us. We're we're able to continue to innovate and meet those demands. Um, I think we have a really healthy future of being a leader in that area. Um, and I think, you know, uh just more broadly, I think um as a company, we we continue to see, like you mentioned, a lot of these changes in customer demands. But at the end of the day, um, our products are, like you said, in everything, and we need to continue to make these products to help to meet those demands. And so I I I see that as really promising for us for our future. And um, I think one one last thing to add is just the current state of manufacturing in the United States. There's a lot of hopeful new investment that can be made. I think we see a lot of opportunities and we're and we're working to uh really look into ways to grow our footprint here because there's a great great workforce. AI is leading the future here. Um, you know, we have energy access. Um, and so really uh looking that's an exciting future look for the company and for industry broadly.
SPEAKER_00:Well, Dan Kochik, you are leading the way, global leader, Covestro, number one. Thank you. Let's go. Thank you.