In each issue, FlexPack VOICE® hosts a question-and-answer segment with an industry leader. In this issue, we talk to Sarah Marshall, vice president of marketing for NOVA Chemicals, Inc.’s polyethylene (PE) business.
In her role, Marshall drives the company’s market leadership strategy through its Advanced SCLAIRTECH™ technology platform and leveraging business opportunities throughout the value chain that guide NOVA Chemicals’ strategic growth.
As a top five producer of petrochemicals in North America and the largest petrochemical company in Canada, she adds, the company produces a wide range of polyethylene products, including plastomers as well as linear low-density, low-density, and high-density PE.
“Our driving purpose is to reshape plastics for a better, more sustainable world,” she says. “We have developed an ambitious Roadmap to Sustainability Leadership.”
Marshall, who has a degree in chemical engineering, is also a member of the Flexible Packaging Association’s board of directors.
“I am optimistic for the future of the plastics industry,” she says.
“We have the drive, creativity, and the people to make positive change in the world and continue to offer the benefits to society that plastics bring.”
FlexPackVOICE®: Tell us about what got you into the industry, your background, and why you chose it as a career path.
Sarah Marshall: I began my career with NOVA Chemicals as a technical service specialist, helping our customers with our products and their technical challenges. From there, I spent nearly 20 years in research and development (R&D), moving through a range of product development and leadership roles. My last role was as the vice president of sustainability, where I began the work to embed sustainability in the company’s strategy, started the work on our decarbonization road map, and helped the company take its first steps toward plastics circularity, including designing with recycling in mind and our mechanical recycling growth strategy. When I chose to work at NOVA Chemicals after graduation, I assumed it would be the first of many companies for me. However, the people and the opportunities at this company have been phenomenal, and I continue to enjoy the challenges each day.
FPV: What would you tell someone who is thinking about a career in the industry if they were to ask for your advice?
SM: Our industry has committed to working toward solving some of the most pressing issues of our time: industrial decarbonization and unmanaged plastic waste. Being part of a company like NOVA Chemicals, where these issues are embedded in the strategy, means working on some of the world’s most important and rewarding challenges. Whether you study engineering, finance, strategy, or business, the plastics industry is an amazing way to start a career. Our industry is also increasingly diverse as companies strive to reflect our communities and society.
FPV: Is there a particular experience that stands out in your career?
SM: I have always been motivated by teamwork that results in new and marketable innovations. Some of my earliest career experiences stand out as the most influential and proud moments. Two of these are solving problems with a new plant start-up and receiving patents for my team’s work on new resins. As I progressed in my career, my influence expanded to leading teams through more strategic processes. In my role as VP of sustainability, it was tremendously rewarding to develop our road maps for sustainability leadership, which rely in part on business models and technical innovation. And now in my role as VP of PE marketing, my role is to continue to pursue product innovation leadership to serve the needs of our customers. The ability to deliver innovative solutions to market needs is what excites me most and has guided the choices I’ve made in my career.
FPV: Who was your mentor and why were they important?
SM: More than mentors, I’ve had some important sponsors in my career who have given me the opportunity to pursue the next level in my career development. The confidence they showed in my abilities when I didn’t feel it myself gave me the push I needed to take the next step, and both provided coaching and support so I knew I could take some risk without going over my ski tips, as we say in western Canada. I make efforts to pay it forward by being a good mentor and sponsor for upcoming talent at NOVA Chemicals and within our industry.
FPV: What do you see as the major challenges facing the industry?
SM: From a material supplier perspective, market dynamics are a challenge in 2024 and for the foreseeable future. Our industry built significant capacity over the past decade in North America and China, particularly, and we are in a period of oversupplied capacity that is projected to keep industry operating rates lower than we’d like to see. Although we expect low-cost regions like North America to still run high rates, this global oversupply will result in suppressed margins, which are needed to fund the sustainability transition of the future—circular plastics projects to provide high-quality recycled content and decarbonizing technologies to lower the greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint of our products.
FPV: Sustainability often comes up when answering that question, so what is the industry doing well and where does it need to do better in this area? What about your company?
SM: There are many things the industry is doing well, especially as we work to create a plastics circular economy by developing innovative products that can potentially be recycled, reused, and reimagined. We are focused on designing with recycling in mind, supporting the transition from multi-material to mono-material packaging. Our portfolio of high-performance resins enables customers to create all-PE products and packaging. We offer solutions that provide opportunities for downgauging and lightweighting, which reduces plastic waste and emissions from transportation. At NOVA Chemicals, we are investing in mechanical recycling facilities because this technology is here now, and it is a lower emissions alternative. We have also restructured our R&D and engineering activities to work toward more efficient circularity technologies and GHG reduction approaches. What we still need to do better is to find lower-cost innovative solutions in plastic circularity and low-carbon technologies to enable the industry to move more quickly in these areas.