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Nina Karabash of Trinseo plc is optimistic about the future of sustainability but knows the industry has a long way to go. By exploring how to advance technology, she sees the plastics industry reaching circularity together.
"When we look at the world around us, it is easy to see how intrinsic plastics are to our everyday lives," said Karabash, who is the Zurich, Switzerland-based global business director for sustainability and methyl methacrylate (MMA) at Trinseo.
"As a professional working for a chemical manufacturer, I believe we have a responsibility to make plastics more sustainable so future generations can continue to benefit from their use without compromising the environment or safety performance."
Karabash has been through many different roles in her career to get where she is today. She started out as a supply chain improvement analyst at Dow Chemical/Styron in 2008.
When she was first hired at Trinseo in 2015, she started out as a product manager, then moved throughout different roles such as commercial manger, sales director and business director before becoming the company's sustainability program director in October 2023.
From the very beginning in her first role, Karabash saw the influence of sustainability; she worked these concepts into her roles and throughout each title she continued to build on her sustainability experience.
"This knowledge — the ability to solve supply chain challenges — is what has always kept me interested in the industry," Karabash said.
Karabash works with Trinseo's sustainability and MMA teams with a goal to create a change throughout the plastics industry. She leads the groups in new technologies such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) depolymerization and polycarbonate dissolution, allowing for more recapturable plastic waste being repurposed into recycled feedstock.
"I am incredibly proud to lead a team focused on developing circular advancements that will reinvent sustainable plastics across the value chain," Karabash said.
She views depolymerization as a critical point in creating high-quality recycled MMA feedstocks and sees the demand for the monomer to continue to grow for the coming years. As she leads the MMA groups, the company is making a direct impact on the materials used in daily lives and helping advance sustainability.
Looking to the future of the industry, Karabash sees improvements in technologies as a way to drive toward circularity. To Karabash, circularity is and will continue to be the biggest challenge the industry will face.
"As today's leaders, we are challenged to redefine the chemical industry, an industry that has — and continues to have — a significant environmental impact," Karabash said "We are setting the stage for the success of the next generation, and the pathways we forge today will have a significant impact in the years ahead."
Within her own company, Trinseo is investing in technology by utilizing mechanical, physical and chemical recycling.
Another area Karabash believes the industry should be focusing on is partnerships, that they are an essential way to build towards a circular economy.
She sees the industry like a puzzle piece: Each role has a part to play in the development of plastics. Her interest in the industry has always stemmed from the knowledge that can be learned and the ability to solve supply chain challenges.
Continuing to grow as a sustainability leader, Karabash attends industry events such as the European Petrochemical Association to grow her network and become more educated on current trends. Karabash is also expanding her knowledge by pursuing an educational path at the Foundations for Business Leadership program at International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland.
She is also a part of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals and TOGETHER community, an initiative formed by IMD alumni to drive positive change in sustainability.
In the future, Karabash hopes the industry will continue to invest in circularity and grow together. She sees herself in a role that will combine her business experience and her sustainability knowledge to support Trinseo's customers in building a circular model.
"I can play a critical role in transitioning our value chain to a circular economy and help close the loop," Karabash said. "By doing so, we can create high-performing materials that improve people's lives while supporting a sustainable tomorrow."