Plastics, paints and medicines all require carbon – an element currently extracted from crude oil – for their production. Now the materials manufacturer Covestro has developed a process that makes it possible to do entirely without fossil resources altogether. Thanks to interdisciplinary collaboration with scientists, the carbon required for aniline – a feedstock for many chemical products – was produced exclusively from renewable raw materials. In the new process, the petroleum product benzene is replaced with industrial sugar. A team success that makes the production of the base chemical aniline more environmentally and climate-friendly – for the benefit of all.