NatureWorks CEO in the News

Rich Altice, president and CEO of bioplastics producer Natureworks, commented that …

the key is to leave room for innovation rather than have mandates. In policy, outcomes are usually the result of compromise. By its nature, policymaking is not really geared to the kind of extreme innovation we need.

When asked ‘Who should be leading the transition to a biobased circular economy?’ 75% said that everyone – business, government and academia – should.

This is clearly right, Altice observed. “Academia is about the art of the possible. From the business world I have a very different perspective. To make the kind of changes we want to see, we must have business models that attract, and deliver a return are multiple asks of any one government that we are struggling to articulate well.”

Who takes the lead? The last proposition to be made to the audience was perhaps the most provocative. ‘The chemical industry is responsible for the unsustainable world we currently live in, so we are the ones who should also feel responsible for changing the world for the better’. To this, 44% agreed, 30% disagreed and 26% were neutral.

The consumer also has responsibilities, Altice said, but “I think there is no better group to lead us through the challenges we face today than the chemical industry. It’s a gigantic and complex problem, which needs collaboration from many different constituents, but it also takes individual leadership to drive substantial change.”