Chemical Industry Priorities
What was of interest at the webinar hosted by EY and the Global Impact Coalition?
The panel featured the WEF’s Head of Chemicals, Stefan Koch, the CTSO of Clariant, Richard Haldimann, Senior Manager in EY’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) group, Aurelien Guichard, and CEO of GIC, Charlie Tan. And three main themes were discussed, circularity, transition to low-carbon feedstock and new ways of collaboration.
My takeaway:
Think of new ways of value chain collaboration, based on midterm upstream and downstream company strategy rather than historically short-term plain competition. Industry is moving above and beyond competition, with some new ways of collaboration forcing companies out of their comfort zone. The key lies on approaching competition at a systemic level and not at an individual level.
Revisit the hurdles to enable collaboration and tackle low-carbon feedstock availability. When companies alone can not generate the capabilities, they should team-up to conceive the market space that enables access to high quality renewable and recycled feedstocks. At this stage, aspirational targets and the leaders signals build trust, create change and open up for collaborative opportunities.
