You were appointed Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) within Krahn Chemie back in June 2018. What does the role say about the times we are living in?
The role of CSO is relatively new, both in general and to me personally. My journey with Krahn began as MD for the Benelux region, where I was active in discussions on sustainability with other MDs on the international board. This led to my additional role as CSO in 2018, which is critical given the widespread attention sustainability commands.
Sustainability is more than a trending topic.
It's not enough to treat sustainability as a project to be rolled out, but rather about setting the right tone at the top and having it embraced as part of a company's DNA.
This role is vital for incorporating sustainability as a key concern in high-level management decisions, ensuring it's woven into the very fiber of our organization.
As a distributor, what data from your suppliers is most important when trying to ensure sustainability across the supply chain?
Life Cycle Assessment data is very useful. Understandably, a lot of focus today is on CO2 emissions, and rightfully so, but there are more ways in which a product can impact the environment and human health. That is why we like more data beyond just the CO2 emissions.
It would help if legislation also supported that movement and put things in motion. If it is up to the consumer to have demands and those demands to transfer into what an industry is doing, it could take quite a long time. I'm hoping that governments set ambitions so that the industry gets a clear understanding of what its next steps should be.
Why are there such big discrepancies between different European markets and the emphasis they place on sustainability?
If you look at the regions where we are active in Europe, you see differences in how far certain regions can go when it comes to the intensity with which they are implementing certain sustainable products or the number of people who are engaged. For our customers, profitability is a concern; you have to be sustainable in an economical way. It’s only normal for companies to want to guarantee their future existence. The question is ‘When is the right moment to put lots of effort into sustainable development and what are the correct steps to take us there?’
Companies are still trying to form a picture of what their next steps should be. Many recognize the need to do something, but there’s not always a huge demand for sustainable solutions, and people aren’t always willing to pay a premium. This is where legislation and local governments could provide guidance by setting very clear targets and expectations; sometimes that push is what’s needed to get companies moving.
How do you go about countering image perception problems in the chemical industry?
The chemicals industry might not be the sexiest, but I'm convinced that by showing the need and importance of chemicals in everyday life, you can paint a picture that makes candidates want to join. Culture is also important, and in our case, we take sustainability very seriously. We train every single person, irrespective of their position, to understand why it’s so important we make this transition.
Given the shifting dynamics in the market, where do you believe the opportunities lie in 2024?
We keep a lookout for interesting new startups or scale-up companies with completely new technologies. It's a mix of challenging existing suppliers, but also requesting data about the performance of their products so we can quantify the impact.
We’ve also just expanded into Central Eastern Europe which felt like the next logical and interesting step to develop our growth and provide good opportunities. We already had a small, local sales office so decided we would be better served by having an entity in Austria.
