Sustainability within STLE
By Jack McKenna, STLE President | TLT President's Report January 2025
The STLE Sustainability Committee is working diligently to educate our members on this topic.
First let me say Happy New Year to the STLE community. I hope you have a fantastic 2025. One of the issues that affects everyone in our world is sustainability. As our industry has had oil as the cornerstone since our foundation back in 1944, this is a very critical topic. Our European members have been hard at work on the issues surrounding sustainability for many years now, and in North America we are starting to dedicate resources to what this means to us.
The first step for STLE was the creation of the STLE Sustainability Committee in 2023. The committee had a very eventful first year, as noted by the chair, Dr. Neil Canter. He says, “Since our chartering in November 2023, we hit the ground running in working to fulfill our objectives which include recommending policies and programs to help educate how tribology research and lubricants contribute to a more sustainable future, establishing and promoting the connection between tribology and sustainability, developing technological solutions to accelerate the transition from non-renewable to renewable resources and working with all other interested parties to develop a global definition for sustainability and find a common path forward.”
As the European lubricants community is a bit ahead, we at STLE have been able to tap into our membership to contribute to our efforts. One of the committee members is Dr. Michael Stapels of Kao Chemicals in Emmerich, Germany, and based on work his company has been doing, he introduced STLE to Carbon Minds, a consultancy group focused on measuring and goal setting in the area:
The STLE Sustainability Committee will work with the Germany-based consultant agency Carbon Minds, which is a purpose driven organization that supports the sustainability transition in chemical value chains, and we strongly believe that they are the right co-operation partner. Carbon Minds will play an active role during the 2025 STLE Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Ga., where they will participate in the STLE Sustainability Committee Panel.
The panel will be moderated by Elisa Swanson-Parbäck, who has an extensive background in sustainability and moderating panels. Another member of the committee is Dr. Shubhamita Basu of Perstorp Group, and she has been focused on setting up the sustainability in motion track for the 2025 STLE Annual Meeting. Timeslots for the sustainability track are:
Session 2F: Monday, May 19, 1:40-5 p.m. with a break from 3-4 p.m.
Session 3F: Tuesday, May 20, 8 a.m.-12 p.m. with a break from 10-10:40 a.m.
Session 4F: Tuesday, May 20, 2-3 p.m.
The invited talks and panel will be held on May 20 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
STLE also offers the online Environmentally Acceptable Lubricant (EAL) Programs and Testing Short Course. Users are challenged to consider the values of biobased lubricants and sustainability for the present and future in tribology. To take this course, visit
www.pathlms.com/stle/courses/66857.
I have only touched on a few of the many passionate volunteers who are diligently working on this important topic. If you want to learn more or get involved with this committee, please reach out to any committee member listed at
www.stle.org or contact me directly.
Jack McKenna is vice president of corporate accounts for Sea-Land Chemical Company located in Cleveland, Ohio, and is based in Elmhurst, Ill. You can reach him at jack.mckenna@sealandchem.com.