8 September 2025
Michael Costello is Group Director of Environment, Social & Governance (ESG) at Stahl, a global supplier of coatings and chemicals for the leather industry. He has a long history with the company, having joined as a Process Chemist in 1988 before going on to focus on sustainability and supply chain transparency.
As Leather Working Group marks 20 years of operations, we caught up with Costello to talk about everything from sustainability and transparency to that all-important LWG Certification.
Looking back over the past 20 years of the Leather Working Group, how have you seen the conversation around sustainability and impact reporting evolve – especially for your organisation?
The priorities have changed quite significantly for chemical companies like us and have moved from being focused on eliminating unwanted substances from the supply chain to climate change adaption and mitigation and detailed ESG reporting. Now it is changing again, with the backlash against ESG and the postponement of related legislation.
Do you remember how you first came across Leather Working Group?
Quite simple. I had just changed my job from a coatings industry position to the newly created sustainability one. My first task was to understand the supply chain and I went to an LWG meeting in Hong Kong as one of my first new job tasks. I was surprised at how participative the meeting was, and how involved the brands were. I had not experienced anything like this is when I was in the coatings industry, ie: a not for profit organisation having such a significant influence on industry.
What inspired you or your organisation to get involved with Leather Working Group in the first place?
Stahl’s sustainability strategy was to promote transparency throughout the supply chain. LWG involvement was one of the clearest ways to effect that strategy.
What are the key changes that, in your opinion, Leather Working Group certification has brought about?
Upgrading of tannery operations, improved safety awareness at tanneries, standardised chemical management at tanneries.
On a personal level, what does Leather Working Group mean to you today?
Leather Working Group has been one of the best things that has happened to the leather industry over the last 15 years. Given so much momentum against our industry, I believe it is something we can point to as an example of how an industry can work together to approach an identified problem and resolve it with an acceptable system of auditing, for the greater good. There are always improvements to be made, and we must keep moving forward as things change, but its influence has been overwhelmingly positive for the industry.