Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin expressed strong support for chemical recycling during a visit to ExxonMobil's advanced recycling site in Baytown, Texas. Zeldin described the capital investment in chemical recycling as "extraordinary" and called the technology's potential "limitless."

The Environmental Protection Agency has shared a preliminary risk evaluation for 1,2-dichloroethane, a vinyl chloride building block, which it says poses an "unreasonable risk" in some conditions of use, including worker exposure. The EPA will accept public comments on the report for 60 days and noted that the preliminary review did not consider personal protective equipment, which could help reduce worker exposure risks.

About 2,620 Environmental Protection Agency employees, or 17% of the workforce, have accepted President Donald Trump's voluntary resignation offer, part of a broader effort to reduce the federal workforce. The program, known as Fork in the Road, allows employees to go on administrative leave with full pay and benefits before resigning.

ExxonMobil and BASF have formed a new partnership to advance a pilot project for methane pyrolysis in the US. The facility will produce turquoise hydrogen and will be located at ExxonMobil's Baytown, Texas, site. BASF is also pursuing similar initiatives in Europe, having launched a methane pyrolysis testing project in Germany in 2020. It also opened a major green hydrogen project in Europe earlier this year.

Manufacturers remain cautiously optimistic, with CEOs rating current business conditions at 5.5 out of 10 and expecting this to rise to 6.3 next year, according to Chief Executive's CEO Confidence Index. Recent trade negotiations, particularly between the Trump administration and China, have contributed to this sentiment. However, some manufacturers still anticipate an economic decline, citing issues such as stagflation and the impact of tariffs.

A new material called Gratek, developed by Nello David Sansone at the University of Toronto and Axiom Group, enhances glass-filled polypropylene by integrating graphene nanoplatelets. This innovation makes the plastic 20% stronger and 18% lighter, potentially revolutionizing automotive parts by reducing vehicle weight and increasing durability. Gratek is expected to be contracted by a major automaker this year, while a variant called Clatek, which uses clay-based halloysite nanotubes and can be dyed, is set to be commercially available within two years.

Diversity, equity and inclusion have been a corporate buzzword, but with initiatives under threat from the government, Ben Ralston, the CEO of The Sachs Foundation, argues that leaders must uphold inclusivity as a moral obligation and require clear commitments instead of superficial compliance. "We will likely make more progress if we stop discussing the acronym altogether and start debating the values," Ralston notes.