From September 25 to 28, 2025, Arkema, a global leader in specialty materials design, is once again featured at the World Design Cities Conference (WDCC 2025) at Booth C5. Under the theme “Arkema’s Four Seasons”, the company showcases how its innovative specialty materials seamlessly integrate into spring, summer, autumn, and winter to connect diverse everyday scenarios. Through “The Arkema Answer”, Arkema demonstrates how sustainable material innovation brings high-quality living within reach, while enriching daily life with greater diversity and experiences.
Arkema is honored to be part of the World Design Cities Conference once again. This year’s theme, ‘Design Boosts Flourishing’, is a great reminder that design extends beyond aesthetics; it embodies how we envision and shape the future of living. That message resonates deeply with our vision for sustainability. As part of the specialty materials industry, we know that material innovations are present throughout daily life, often in ways that people don’t even notice. Through WDCC, we want to show how materials can quietly but powerfully shape lifestyles, and hopefully encourage a deeper understanding that inspires society to actively choose sustainable innovation.”
As global warming accelerates and climate challenges intensify, Arkema’s participation this year departs from the conventional business-showcase format, encouraging the public to choose a lower-carbon yet more comfortable lifestyle — and to help cool the planet together. Inspired by the four seasons, Arkema’s booth offers an immersive journey: lightweight, fully recyclable sports equipment infuses spring with vitality; clean energy and environmental purification technologies maintain cool and livable summer spaces; high-performance battery materials ensure safe and efficient mobility in autumn; and eco-friendly, durable building materials provide lasting warmth to homes in winter.
Throughout the changing seasons, nature remains Arkema’s enduring source of design inspiration. Building on renewable castor seeds, Arkema has developed advanced bio-circular materials derived from a plant that does not compete with food or feed and does not contribute to deforestation. At the center of the booth, visitors can see Rilsan® PA11, Arkema’s flagship material derived entirely from castor seeds. With a carbon footprint as low as 1.3 kg CO₂e/kg—around 80% lower than traditional fossil-based polyamides—Rilsan® PA11 is already widely used in sports equipment, automotive, and new energy sectors. After serving their purpose, these materials can be recycled and reintroduced into the value chain, ready for the next “spring”, fully embodying a cycle rooted in nature.
To raise awareness of climate change and the small steps everyone can take, Arkema introduced the “Climate Fresk” challenge at the exhibition. The playful activity quickly drew crowds, transforming a simple game into an engaging platform to foster awareness and support for climate action.
Arkema believes that industrial design is not a distant symbol of technology, but an integral part of everyday life. The choices we make today are quietly shaping the planet of tomorrow. We welcome you to visit Arkema at Booth C5 during WDCC 2025 to discover “Arkema’s Four Seasons” and experience how sustainable material innovation can drive flourishing lifestyles.
*The World Design Cities Conference 2025 (WDCC 2025), hosted by the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government and co-hosted by UNESCO, marks a milestone year for Shanghai. 2025 not only celebrates the 15th anniversary of Shanghai being named a UNESCO “City of Design”, but also the fourth consecutive year the city has staged the WDCC. With the theme “Design Boosts Flourishing”, this year’s conference continues to practice the mission and vision of “building a global design innovation cooperation platform, exploring the path of design-driven new quality development, and promoting design everywhere in cities and lives”.