Patrick Thomas aims to make the world a better place with his “80-year startup”. Covestro products are everywhere in modern life – from our cars, smartphones and mattresses to refrigeration and thermal insulation… to Solar Impulse‘s lightweight cockpit. We met the CEO of the world-leading manufacturer of high-tech polymer materials in a café to discuss a smarter use of materials:

“Having flown around the world in a solar airplane, what’s important next is what we take from that. The long term benefit is the thousands of high school students who I’ve talked to about that project. They can see that what they thought was impossible is possible.”

► How did we fly around the world with no fuel? Because of innovation in science.

By following their principles of being curious, courageous and colo​ur​ful, Covestro strives to make the world a brighter place and revolutionise business’s approach to carbon. Patrick is also president of PlasticsEurope – the European association of plastics producers – and of the Oxford University Business Economics Programme.

All videos were produced by Atlas of the Future for Project Breakthrough (United Nations Global Compact/ Volans). Check out our other videos here.