Innovation Day 2025

The sustainability landscape continues to evolve considerably. While customers express support for sustainability programs, they remain reluctant to pay a premium for green solutions. In recent years, Quaker Houghton has made significant progress in developing programs and products that advance sustainability while meeting customers’ cost expectations.

Plastic recycling is essential to reducing environmental impact and advancing circular economy goals. Mechanical recycling, the most established method, involves sorting, cleaning, and reprocessing plastics into new materials. While efficient for certain polymers, it is limited by contamination and material degradation. Advanced recycling, including chemical processes, breaks plastics down into their molecular components, enabling the recovery of high-quality feedstocks. However, first-generation technologies often face challenges such as low yields, high energy use, and complex feedstock requirements. The presentation provided a high-level view of plastics recycling and Grace’s breakthrough CirFlex™ Technology in advanced recycling.

The global sustainability regulatory landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by a convergence of international frameworks and jurisdictional mandates. This session explored the latest developments shaping corporate sustainability reporting and strategy, with a focus on the European Commission’s Omnibus Simplification Package, California’s climate disclosure laws (SB-253 and SB-261), and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards.

Sustainability can be about the potential to actually save money. Fifty percent of all direct positive impacts of sustainability on the environment are projected to come from enhanced “efficiency measures,” not from the introduction of a radical new process between now and 2050. This is great news for businesses as efficiency also improves the bottom line. To accomplish this, best practices and effective measures need to be communicated, hence the importance of systems like ISO 14000 and ISO 50001, as well as voluntary participation programs like the Better Plants Program.

This talk explored the growing imperative to integrate AI into the R&D lifecycle and how this shift will impact value to the companies that adopt it. Attendees learned where and how different types of AI and machine-learning tools can be applied. The discussion walked through real-world examples of how data-driven experimentation augmented with AI/ML tooling is yielding faster, smarter, and more scalable outcomes. The presentation concluded by connecting these capabilities to the broader business impact—highlighting how AI in R&D drives reduced time-to-market, increased productivity, and long-term competitive advantage.

Most of the world’s smart people don’t work for your company, and some of them are working on stuff you might care about. Open innovation is about how to leverage the capabilities that lie outside your company to innovate on your behalf, so that your innovation pipeline can be broader, more productive, and maybe even less costly. The reverse also applies: you can leverage opportunities and money outside your company for internally developed innovations. This presentation examined some of the cases where open innovation has worked well and some where it hasn’t.

In today’s fast-paced and highly competitive business environment, organizations are under increasing pressure to accelerate their time-to-market while managing complex and often resource-constrained product portfolios. This session explored the intersection of speed-to-market and portfolio management, emphasizing how companies can drive innovation, reduce cycle times, and maintain strategic alignment across their offerings. The speakers examined best practices for agile development, cross-functional collaboration, and resource allocation that enable rapid product delivery without sacrificing quality or long-term value. The discussion included frameworks for dynamic portfolio management that support decision-making under uncertainty, ensuring the right mix of high-potential initiatives are prioritized. Case studies and industry benchmarks illustrated how Trinseo and Arkema are integrating speed and strategic portfolio governance to enhance competitiveness, reduce risk, and maximize return on innovation investment.

In an era of rapid digital transformation, Chevron Phillips Chemical is pioneering the integration of connected worker technologies to enhance safety, efficiency, and operational excellence across its manufacturing sites. This presentation explored the company’s strategic approach to deploying advanced digital tools including AI/ML-driven insights, digitalized electronic permitting systems, and computer vision-enabled inspections. Attendees gained insight into how these technologies are reshaping frontline operations—augmenting human capabilities, streamlining workflows, and improving compliance. The session also highlighted key lessons learned from implementation and insights into what the future may hold, offering practical guidance for organizations embarking on similar digital journeys.