Michael Royko, turning ripples of change into waves

Michael Royko, currently working as a Sustainability Specialist for the Chemical Intermediates business unit at BASF Corporation Headquarters in Florham Park, New Jersey, is finishing his final rotation of the Leadership Development Program (LDP). Learn more about this amazing Change Maker below.

What was your childhood like?

I grew up in Fulshear, a smaller town outside of Houston. My dad was originally a police officer and then got into oil and gas. He worked in a technical/chemistry role, even though he didn't have that as a technical background. My mom was a nurse, so I had a little bit of science and engineering background from both my parents.

Living in the country was nice. We had land, animals, and a lot of natural space to walk around. It was quiet and relaxing. My love for nature stemmed from living in that kind of area and being able to go on hikes very close to home.  We also gardened and grew some of our own vegetables.

I still like to go on walks and garden today. My garden is full of tomatoes, peppers, and more basic stuff. I got a little bit more exotic with some cantaloupe and watermelons this year. I also like to cook a lot. There's a surprising amount of science involved in cooking and gardening, so I like to kind of nerd out a little bit on that with my science/engineering training and also go back to my childhood.

How did you decide to study chemical engineering? 

My parents always said that growing up, I liked facts. I read encyclopedias and I always had that factual component there. When I went to high school, I really liked chemistry. My dad, who worked with a lot of chemists, asked a few of them, ‘My son's interested in chemistry, what would you do in that perspective?’ And they said, ‘Honestly if I had to go back and redo it, I would've done chemical engineering.’ And that made sense to me. There was an engineering course offered at the high school I went to at a later point, and I took it. It was mostly focused on mechanical engineering, not as much chemical engineering, but I could see the interaction of chemistry applying to it.

The romanticism of the engineering aspect for me is that you can create something, and you can also make it on a large scale. So, at the end of the day, you can touch or hold a product that you make or a process that you are developing in your hand, as opposed to chemistry, which is a little bit more on the development side as opposed to the production side. 

You joined BASF as an intern in Germany and now you are a part of the Leadership Development Program (LDP) in North America. How has that experience been so far?

One of the things I really liked about the internship was how fast I got to do new things. I've had a number of roles at BASF where I'm working on a project, and I feel like I’m too young or too new to be allowed to do it, but people have trusted me and listened to my ideas, and it feels very empowering.

I learned about the LDP from other students from my lab. When my manager in Germany found out about the LDP role, she encouraged me to apply because the LDP gives you a good avenue to try out different functions and business within BASF and gain exposure to different types of roles, especially commercial roles that may be difficult for someone with a technical background to gain experience in.

It is also a really good way to build up a network of different people, as well as understanding how the business works. I think it's a really valuable condensed experience of BASF.

What role did you choose for your final rotation?

I recently started my final rotation as a Sustainability Specialist with the Chemical Intermediates business in North America. What I'm predominantly doing is looking at how we can utilize government funding for assets used in North America and how to support our customers with sustainable products. I was excited by being able to work in an upstream “bread-and-butter” Verbund-integrated business within BASF and support them in their sustainability journey, where changes are able to trickle down to other businesses within BASF as well as our direct customers.

There are many great funding opportunities available through the CHIPS program, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Part of my role is determining how these credits can be applied to other projects the Intermediates business is working on to produce sustainable products. 

Sustainability seems to be a priority for you in your work. Is this what led you to join BASF?

Yes, the focus on sustainability within BASF was one of the reasons why I was also interested in the company, outside of the good experience I had while in Germany. That was also one of the reasons why I initially applied for the internship there. So, definitely, my first role in the rotational program focusing on sustainable feedstock engineering, was very sustainability-focused from a science and engineering perspective. The second role involved, I would say, the softer skills behind it. So, learning how to understand what customers want. These are supporting skills that I'll be using in this role and beyond.

I can make sustainable choices for myself: not driving as much, gardening, composting, or recycling, but at the end of the day, it doesn't make a large impact; it’s just one person taking positive action for the environment. But if I'm working in a sustainability role for a company and I'm helping a company make that decision, especially a very large company, then I can multiply my efforts by helping the company itself become more sustainable. So, I can make a much larger impact that way than I can just by myself living my own independent life.

Why did you apply to become a Change Maker?

One of the reasons I wanted to participate was because I think BASF can sometimes be invisible to people outside of the chemical industry. People don't know a lot about what we're doing (or if they do it is often VHS tapes), yet we're doing a lot of great things. So having something that's outwardly facing, showing what we're doing is a fantastic way to raise awareness for all that BASF does.

The internship and the roles I've had so far, exposed me to sustainability within the chemical industry. My first role showed me that BASF really values good ideas regardless of who they come from, whether it’s a very senior or a very junior person. If you have a good idea, it may take some effort to get it rolling, but BASF will listen to you. If you want to make an impact and you have good ideas, this is a company where you can do that.