Trinseo’s 15th Annual Sustainability Report “Tides of Change” Chronicles Bold Progress Toward a Circular Future
Trinseo (NYSE: TSE), a leading global provider of specialty material solutions, has unveiled its FY2024 Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Report under the theme “Tides of Change.” This comprehensive document not only serves as a reflection of the company’s enduring commitment to sustainability but also marks a pivotal chapter in its journey of aligning innovation and environmental stewardship with long-term business resilience.
In a world where the need for sustainable transformation has never been more urgent, Trinseo’s latest report exemplifies the company’s proactive stance in navigating complex global challenges. The “Tides of Change” title aptly symbolizes the dynamic industrial and environmental currents Trinseo has had to navigate, reinforcing its dedication to staying the course toward a more sustainable and circular future.
A Vision Anchored in Sustainability
“At Trinseo, our mission remains steadfast: to deliver innovative, sustainable solutions that create value for our customers and support the transition toward a more circular future,” said Frank Bozich, President and Chief Executive Officer of Trinseo. “I’m optimistic that we are well-positioned to chart a course toward a stronger future.”
This statement underscores Trinseo’s central belief that sustainability is not a mere adjunct to business, but a foundational principle that guides every strategic decision. Over the past year, the company has intensified its efforts to embed sustainability throughout its operations, investments, and innovation processes.
Measuring Progress: 2030 Sustainability Goals
One of the central pillars of the report is Trinseo’s progress on its 2030 Sustainability Goals—a set of 17 comprehensive targets developed to foster accountability, transparency, and progress across the entire organization. In FY2024, the company successfully achieved five of these goals, particularly in the domains of Supplier Responsibility, Responsible Operations, and Climate Change.
These achievements are significant milestones, reflecting the cumulative efforts across the company’s global operations. However, Trinseo remains transparent in acknowledging that several goals remain in progress. These include critical focus areas such as Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions management, supplier due diligence protocols, water use reduction, and the integration of on-site renewable energy systems. The company’s open communication on both achievements and challenges illustrates its commitment to responsible and measurable sustainability performance.
Catalyzing Innovation Through Advanced Recycling
A highlight of Trinseo’s 2024 accomplishments is the company’s significant expansion in advanced recycling capabilities. In a strategic move to support the circular economy, Trinseo inaugurated its first chemical recycling demonstration facility in Rho, Italy. This facility is dedicated to the depolymerization of acrylic-based solutions—an innovative method for breaking down polymers into monomers that can be reused to create high-quality, recycled material.
Following this, Trinseo also launched its pilot facility for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) dissolution in Terneuzen, the Netherlands. Both facilities represent cutting-edge investments in recycling technologies that can significantly enhance the quality and quantity of post-consumer recycled feedstocks across Trinseo’s business segments.
These initiatives build on Trinseo’s existing recycling technology portfolio, which already includes mechanical recycling as well as polystyrene and polycarbonate dissolution. By expanding the range of recyclable materials and enhancing feedstock quality, these facilities are instrumental in moving the company—and the industry—closer to a circular model of production and consumption.
A Unified Vision: Sustainability as a Core Business Driver
According to Han Hendriks, Trinseo’s Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer, “Our collective efforts place sustainability at the heart of our innovation, operations, partnerships and business model. Guided by our 2030 Sustainability Goals and Core Values, we are innovating not only our products but also our approach to materials solutions.”
Hendriks’ remarks highlight how Trinseo has worked to redefine its value proposition around sustainability. Rather than treating sustainability as an obligation, Trinseo sees it as an opportunity for market differentiation and long-term resilience. The company’s product innovation strategy is now closely aligned with the principles of circularity, energy efficiency, and resource optimization.
Supply Chain Accountability: Expanding the Supplier Responsibility Goal
In response to the evolving regulatory landscape and stakeholder expectations, Trinseo enhanced its 2030 Supplier Responsibility Goal in 2024. This revised goal goes beyond assessing direct suppliers to include indirect suppliers, thereby broadening the company’s influence across the entire value chain.
The new approach considers both the environmental impact and spending influence associated with all supplier tiers. By implementing more robust due diligence mechanisms, Trinseo aims to ensure that its suppliers align with the same sustainability principles that it applies internally. This initiative reflects the company’s holistic view of responsibility, recognizing that true sustainability must extend beyond its own operations.
Advancing Scope 3 Emissions Transparency
A particularly complex but crucial area of focus is the management of Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions—those indirect emissions that occur across a company’s value chain, from upstream raw material extraction to downstream product usage and end-of-life disposal.
In 2024, Trinseo completed its Scope 3 emissions inventory and received limited assurance from ERM CVS, an independent third-party assurance provider. This step marks a foundational achievement, as it establishes a verified baseline from which future emission reduction strategies can be developed and executed in collaboration with suppliers and partners.
Going forward, this data will allow Trinseo to better identify hot spots in its supply chain, quantify the carbon intensity of its products, and design interventions that are targeted, measurable, and effective.
R&D Anchored in the Circular Economy
One of the most compelling aspects of Trinseo’s 2024 sustainability journey lies in its transformation of the R&D function. The company exceeded its internal target by allocating 78% of its research and development resources toward circular economy solutions.
This strategic focus has led to the development and refinement of advanced material solutions such as recycled polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polycarbonate resins. These innovations are supported by the company’s proprietary depolymerization and dissolution technologies, and they aim to enable the design of next-generation sustainable products across sectors including automotive, electronics, and consumer goods.
Trinseo’s strong investment in R&D reinforces its role as a material science innovator with a mission not only to solve the technical challenges of recycling but also to co-create sustainable applications with customers and partners.
Aligning with Global Reporting Standards
To ensure that its disclosures are transparent, credible, and aligned with international best practices, Trinseo prepared its FY2024 Sustainability and CSR Report with reference to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) 2021 Universal Standards. Additionally, the report incorporates frameworks from the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), which are widely used by investors and stakeholders to evaluate ESG performance.
In tandem with the Sustainability Report, Trinseo also released a Core Impact Report—an integrated summary that maps the company’s contributions to long-term value creation across financial, environmental, and social dimensions. This dual-reporting format helps provide stakeholders with a clear, comprehensive, and actionable view of Trinseo’s progress and plans.
Charting a Course for Future Impact
As Trinseo reflects on the 15-year milestone of sustainability reporting, the company remains forward-looking. The challenges of climate change, resource scarcity, and regulatory evolution continue to demand innovative responses. But Trinseo’s latest report makes it clear that the company is not only prepared but actively shaping the materials landscape of the future.
The theme “Tides of Change” embodies both the unpredictability of the external environment and the steadfastness of commitment to leading change. Whether through its investment in next-gen recycling technologies, enhanced supply chain governance, or bold R&D targets, Trinseo is building a business model designed for resilience, regeneration, and relevance.
For those seeking to understand how leading manufacturers are embedding sustainability into their DNA—not only as a compliance issue but as a strategic asset— FY2024 Sustainability and CSR Report provides a compelling case study. To explore sustainability strategy and access the full report, visit Trinseo.com/Sustainability.
About Trinseo
a specialty material solutions provider, partners with companies to bring ideas to life in an imaginative, smart, and sustainably focused manner by combining its premier expertise, forward-looking innovations, and best-in-class materials to unlock value for companies and consumers.
From design to manufacturing, taps into decades of experience in diverse material solutions to address customers’ unique challenges in a wide range of industries, including building and construction, consumer goods, medical and mobility.
Trinseo’s employees bring endless creativity to reimagining the possibilities with clients all over the world from the company’s locations in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. reported net sales of approximately $3.5 billion in 2024. Discover more by visiting www.trinseo.com and connecting with Trinseo on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook.
