Emily Friedman work focuses on the North American market for recycled plastics. Her role as Senior Market Editor at ICIS, involves providing insights that guide companies in making informed decisions, especially around sustainability and transitioning to a circular economy. Originally trained as a materials science engineer, Emily first engaged with polymers as a researcher working on projects which included exploring bio-fillers for automotive plastics. After college, she deepened her experience in the plastics sector by working as a corrosion engineer and later as a reliability engineer for ExxonMobil, supporting both refining and chemical production.
In her current position, Emily’s market intelligence work helps businesses mitigate risk and uncover new opportunities, allowing clients to move beyond negotiations to innovation. She values how plastics, when responsibly managed, can drive significant progress, from enabling groundbreaking technologies to supporting a lower-carbon circular economy. Emily is particularly passionate about changing public perceptions of plastics, encouraging her generation to see the material’s positive impact and to consider careers in plastics for the chance to drive industry change from within.