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Solutions for Chemicals - Chemical & Pharmaceuticals - Fine Chemicals
The chemical industry has a pivotal role to play in addressing the environmental challenges facing society by driving innovation in key technologies, materials and processes. As a foundational sector, it provides essential inputs to a broad range of industries — from manufacturing and agriculture to industrial and consumer goods, and packaging. By prioritizing its own transformation, the chemical sector can enable sustainability to take root across global value chains.
Chemicals are essential to our daily lives, present in nearly every product, process and industry. Yet the sector faces significant sustainability challenges due to its dependence on fossil fuels, resource-intensive production and waste generation. The chemical industry is already embracing sustainable practices by assessing its environmental impacts and prioritizing human, animal and planetary health and safety. With growing pressure to operate within planetary boundaries, the opportunity for the sector to drive transformational change is endless. The levers for sustainable innovation are vast, and now is the time for the chemical industry to accelerate change.
Defossilization
The chemical sector faces the massive challenge of reducing its reliance on fossil fuels, both as a feedstock and energy source. Transitioning from fossil resources to renewable alternatives like biofuels, biopolymers and recycled and sustainably sourced materials will enable the industry to cut its emissions significantly.
Mitigating business risk from nature loss
As climate change, water scarcity and biodiversity loss intensify, businesses that depend on natural resources and energy face significant risks. Chemical companies must assess both their vulnerabilities and impacts to develop effective mitigation and adaptation strategies, to enable business to thrive while operating within planetary boundaries, ensuring long-term business resilience.
Holistic health + safety
The safe management of chemicals, which pose risks through both acute and chronic exposures, is crucial for safeguarding human, animal and environmental health. Limiting and controlling the release of chemicals, promoting research and use of safer and more sustainable chemicals, enforcing stringent standards and raising awareness are all essential to achieving this goal.
Circularity + waste
As the chemical sector evolves toward greater circularity, there’s a greater need to collaborate with downstream players who manage end-of-life of materials. By transforming waste into new feedstock through chemical and mechanical recycling, and fostering reusability through smaller, closed loops, chemical companies can embed sustainability across the industry, playing a crucial role in driving circularity for consumer and industrial goods.
Supply chain
The chemical industry operates with complex and extensive supply chains, which present challenges for procurement teams and collaboration efforts. Inconsistent sustainability maturity, limited data, lifecycle performance management and transparency challenges hinder the industry’s ability to achieve consistent sustainable practices across the value chain.
Stakeholder engagement
The chemical industry, which is integral to the value chains of many other sectors, has launched global pre-competitive initiatives to address shared challenges. By engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, from governments and NGOs to downstream industries, the chemical sector can more effectively drive progress and reinforce its role as a key enabler of the sustainability transformation and systemic change.
Chemicals are an integral part of nearly every industry, from consumer goods and cosmetics to pharmaceuticals and manufacturing. With such broad influence, the chemical sector holds immense potential to help bring society into alignment with planetary boundaries.
As environmental challenges such as climate change, nature loss and resource depletion intensify, the chemical industry must undergo a transformative shift.
Here are three priorities to accelerate the sustainability transformation of the chemical sector.