The International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) introduced its new Secretary General, Professor Joseph Adelegan, today. Professor Adelegan officially took up the post of Secretary General on 1 December, 2022.

IRSG claims that Professor Adelegan is a C-Suite Executive and an international development expert. He is also a professor of Practice of Environmental Science and Engineering, and a practitioner-scholar in management, with over three decades of professional trajectory across 20 African countries, Europe and the United States. According to IRSG, his work experience spans several organisations, including the United Nations, development finance institutions, international organisations, government, non-governmental organisations, education, innovation and research institutions, among others.

He has extensive experience in the sustainable investment, disruptive innovation and circular economy of the elastomer products. IRSG states that he has held senior roles at the United Nations as the team lead for the Global Circular Economy Program of the United Nations Technology Innovation Lab at the first European Lab in Finland, and as a Senior Advisor at the United Nations Office of Project Services in Denmark.

Professor Adelegan was the Division Chief at the Office of the Vice President of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, an international development financial institution established by ECOWAS Treaty and covering 15 ECOWAS countries. As per IRSG, he was a representative of Africa and the Middle East at the Climate Investment Trust Fund at the World Bank, Washington DC, United States. His portfolio has included programs and projects funded by the European Union, World Bank, Green Climate Fund, Climate Investment Fund, African Development Bank, ECOWAS, African Union, NEPAD Agency, Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), Australian Aid, several United Nations agencies and funds among others.

IRSG claims that Professor Adelegan has held several board appointments, created strategic partnerships and mobilised resources from development agencies, development finance institutions and several donor agencies. He was a member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council, Geneva, Switzerland and Non-Executive Director of the European Sustainable Development Organization, among others. 

Plus, according to IRSG, he was a professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at Universities in Africa, Europe and North America. He was a Professor of the Practice of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Venda, South Africa. IRSG states that he is also a visiting professor of Water and Energy Engineering at the Pan African University, Institute of Water and Energy Sciences (including Climate Change), Tlemcen, Algeria, established by the African Union. He was a visiting professor of Environmental Management at the Commonwealth University, London, United Kingdom as well. As per IRSG, he is a professor of Environmental Leadership at the Missional University, North Augusta, South Carolina, United States.

Furthermore, Professor Adelegan is a recipient of several global awards. These include the 2006 Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland; recognition in 2007 as an Inventor Social Entrepreneur and Ashoka-Lemelson Fellow by the Ashoka Innovators for the Public and the Lemelson Foundation based in the United States; 2009 Technology Pioneer of the World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland; 2009 Technology Award Laureate and Prize Recipient of the Technology Museum of Innovation, San Jose, California, United States; 2010 Member of the Crans Montana Forum of New Leaders of Tomorrow, Geneva, Switzerland and 2010 Member of the Clinton Global Initiative, New York, United States, among others.

IRSG claims that he is in high demand as a regular speaker at international conferences in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, North America and Australia. He has made appearance in CNN as 2008 Principal Voices on the ‘Economics of Energy’ by CNN in association with Shell, Times and Fortune Magazine. According to IRSG, he has travelled to over 120 countries in this regard. Besides, he has written over 30 publications on several topical issues.

As for his qualifications, IRSG states that Professor Adelegan earned two Doctorate Degrees. He earned a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) from the Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States. He also gained a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Nigerian Premier University of Ibadan, as per IRSG. He is an alumnus of a number of executive programs, including the United Nations University, Tokyo, Japan; the University of California, Berkeley, United States; Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, United States; John F Kennedy School of Government and the Harvard Business School, Harvard University, United States, among others.

IRSG claims that Professor Adelegan is a seasoned and rounded professional with broad experience and extensive global networks. He will be building strategic partnerships and provide intellectual leadership to position IRSG as the knowledge hub and repository centre for the world rubber industry.

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Tegeta Green Planet and Shine Energy, both affiliated with Tegeta Holding, have launched a joint educational initiative to raise environmental awareness and a sense of responsibility among young people. The project addresses modern challenges such as environmental protection and sustainable development.

Company representatives are visiting schools across Tbilisi to hold informational meetings, presentations and workshops. The programme begins with presentations, followed by interactive games and activities designed to help students retain the information. At the end of each session, participants receive symbolic gifts and prizes as motivation.

Tegeta Green Planet focuses on teaching students the principles of specific waste management, including how to properly handle used tyres, batteries and oils. The sessions explain why proper waste management is essential for environmental protection and how it connects to the circular economy. Meanwhile, Shine Energy educates young people on the importance of energy, its everyday use and why developing renewable and sustainable energy resources is crucial.

The initiative is not limited to schools. In the near future, both organisations will expand their efforts to universities, aiming to broaden awareness about environmental protection, waste management and energy efficiency. The ultimate goal is to foster environmentally responsible attitudes among the younger generation, helping build a more sustainable and conscious society.

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Zeon has been recognised as a Supplier Engagement Leader in the 2025 Supplier Engagement Assessment (SEA) conducted by CDP, a United Kingdom-based international environmental nonprofit organisation. This achievement represents the first time the company has received the highest possible rating in this assessment.

The evaluation measures how corporations address climate change within their supply chains, focusing on responses to the CDP Climate Change Questionnaire across five critical areas. These include governance, emissions targets, Scope 3 emissions management, risk management and overall supplier engagement strategies.

Zeon earned the top rating for its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through supplier collaboration, a group-wide initiative, alongside continuous dialogue maintained via procurement activities. Guided by its philosophy of contributing to planetary preservation and human prosperity, Zeon remains committed to sustainable management. The company reaffirmed that it will continue working with suppliers and other stakeholders to tackle climate change and meet societal expectations.

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German chemical group WACKER has announced a price increase of up to 15 percent for its resins, dispersions and dispersible polymer powders produced at its European and US facilities. The adjustment takes effect on 1 June 2026, or as existing customer contracts permit. The move is designed to allow the company’s Polymers division to maintain high product quality, deliver technological innovations and provide superior customer service and technical support. It will also support investments aimed at securing future growth in key markets.

Rising costs for raw materials and logistics have forced the pricing measure, with the Polymers division being particularly affected. The recent conflict in the Middle East has caused significant disruptions across global commodity markets. As a direct result, prices for energy, raw materials and transportation have climbed sharply.

Despite the increase, WACKER remains focused on sustaining its commitment to customer support and long-term capability. The company underscored that the adjustment is necessary to continue meeting market demands while ensuring operational stability and future-oriented development across its focus markets.

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Pirelli North America has launched its first closed-loop circular recycling initiative, marking a significant step in the company’s broader strategy to increase recycled and bio‑based content in its tyre production. The project has received the Tire Recycling Foundation’s Value Chain Collaboration Award.

The programme recovers scrap tyres generated during Pirelli’s own North American manufacturing process. These materials are sent to Bolder Industries, which applies ISCC PLUS‑certified pyrolysis technology to produce BolderBlack recovered carbon black. Pirelli then reintroduces this material into new tyre production at its North American facilities, partially replacing virgin carbon black. The effort is part of a wider Pirelli plan to expand such industrial ecosystems across the group’s production network, aiming to valorise waste by reintegrating recovered materials into tyre manufacturing.

Beyond the award, the initiative reflects Pirelli’s broader circularity approach, which includes ongoing work to boost recycled and bio‑based material usage. The company targets over 80 percent bio‑based and recycled content in its best‑performing products and forty percent in total production by 2030.

Claudio Zanardo, CEO, Pirelli North America, said, "The Rome plant is one of the most technologically advanced manufacturing facilities in Pirelli. This initiative reflects an approach focused on increasing the use of recovered materials within existing production processes. It is part of a broader effort to gradually integrate raw materials derived from recycled resources into our products while maintaining consistency in performance and quality."

Tony Wibbeler, CEO, Bolder Industries, said, "Our collaboration demonstrates that a traceable, mass-balance approach to tyre-to-tyre circularity is not only achievable, but it's ready to scale inside a premium manufacturing environment, meeting real performance and certification requirements at every step. This is the kind of progress the industry has been working toward for many years."

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