Meet Dan. Global Head of Biotechnology, Braskem.
“I really have one of the best jobs in the world.”
As the global head of biotechnology at Braskem, a large plastics maker with facilities in the Americas, Europe and Asia, Dan is on a mission to change the way some plastics are made.
“We’re looking to revolutionize the plastics industry so that we see more bio-based products in things we use every day. My job and my team’s job is to transform not only Braskem but our entire industry towards renewable feedstocks [raw materials].”
“Really, our job is to decarbonize the petrochemical industry. The way we do that is we make a lot of the same plastics and chemicals we’re producing today, but instead of using petroleum feedstocks, we’re trying to transition into using renewable feedstocks, things like corn sugar and cane sugar and vegetable oil.”
Plastics Make Our Lives Better
Dan’s motivation starts with the recognition that plastics are essential to our lives… and sometimes lifesaving.
“If we think about it, plastics really make our lives better in a lot of different ways. When we think about the medical industry, we use plastics for devices for surgery. IV bags are made out of plastics.”
“When we think about transportation. Plastics have allowed us to lightweight our cars to improve their fuel efficiency.”
“When we think about packaging, plastics allow us to increase the shelf life of foods and decrease food waste. And also allow us to transport food more efficiently.”
But…
“What we can do, though, is start to make some of those same plastics from renewable sources rather than from petrochemical sources. And that’s really what my team’s looking to do because developing bio-based plastics will further usher us toward a more sustainable future.”
Moving Toward Renewable Resources
As Dan notes, most plastics today are derived from the hydrocarbons in natural gas and crude oil (although some come from other sources such as coal, sand, cellulose… and even salt.)
“So today, the way we make plastics and chemicals is that we take oil [or natural gas] from the ground, and we go through a series of conversion processes to eventually make those plastics and chemicals.”
Making plastic from renewable resources is a lot like making another product we’re all familiar with.
“An easy way to think about it is making beer, where we’re using renewable feedstocks and we use yeast to convert that into a usable product. In this case, they’re really making ethanol, alcohol, and that’s what makes beer. And that conversion is what microbes do. We’re doing something very similar. We’re just making other things, other than ethanol. We’re using those microbes to make chemicals, materials, and things we see every day.”
Investing in Renewables Technology
Dan’s company has invested heavily in renewables technology. One example: Dan and his team recently got a new tool to help with their mission.
“Braskem has built this really great new research facility in Lexington, Mass. We call it the Renewable Innovation Center. The core focus is research and development for renewable technologies to make more plastics from plant-based materials.”
“By using feedstocks like cane sugar and corn sugar we dramatically reduce the overall carbon footprint of the products we’re making.”
Environmentalism at Home and at Work
Sustainability is a big part of Dan’s sensibilities. And it starts at home.
“My passion for environmentalism goes well beyond just my work. It’s really important for a variety of reasons. The first is, I’m a parent. I’ve got two small kids.”
“It’s really our lifestyle and the way that we approach things every day. For example, my family’s got our vegetable garden. We also raise our own chickens for eggs. We’ve got our compost bin. We take our garden scraps, or our kitchen scraps, the food waste that we have, and it either ends up in our compost bin or it ends up going to our chickens.”
“These are passions that really spread across our entire family. This is all a central part of how we live and what we really want to secure for the future for our kids.”
Hanging with his kids deepens Dan’s passion for sustainability.
“I love doing outdoor sports with them. I love doing things like mountain biking and skiing and scuba diving. And I want them to have a world that they grow up in, where those are viable options for them.”
Dan’s contributing to that future for his kids. And all kids.
“By reducing the carbon footprint of our industry, hopefully we can start to reduce the impact of those carbon emissions on global climate change.”
Working to Make the World a Better Place
Dan and his wife are uniquely suited to securing that future.
“We live in a very funny household. I’m a scientist. My wife is an engineer. We’re both in the biotech space.”
“The work we do is important to us because we feel like we’re making a difference in the world. We both feel very proud of what we do, and we hope that our kids can feel really proud about the work we do every day.”
Thanks, Dan. We’re wicked excited that you’re making sustainable change in Lexington, Mass.