Can chemicals even be safe and sustainable?
Well yes! - but we need to consider the trade off: cost, social issues like slavery, hazards, etc, etc and whatever the solutions, customers need to be able to toggle to emphasize their business priorities.
This week I’m back with the people from Change Chemistry, at the EU Forum in Seneffe, Belgium, hosted by Dow. One of the most lasting vibes I heard was
“We’re all citizens and we’re all consumers. We as citizens want to see change, but we as consumers don’t want to pay for it”
and that seems to encapsulate the conundrum perfectly for me. Whatever sustainable means, it needs to be Impactful, Practical, and Measurable.
While re-use and end of life consideration is key, one of the (many) challenges is that we need to somehow mainstream sustainable chemistry. It’s a luxury for me being in Europe for this meeting, where the Green Deal is creating a sustainability strategy for the EU and going a long way to achieving that mainstreaming.
A key take away for me is the understanding that when opportunities present, we should jump on them and show some human to human leadership. Don’t wait to be told you have to do something - if something is voluntary, show some leadership and get people on it now. Compliance may be regional, but we need to behave in an ethical way globally.
What we’re talking about here is not disruption, but transformation. We’ve already crossed 6/9 planetary boundaries including for chemical use. But synthetic chemicals are integral to modern life. Only 6-7% global emissions are linked to chemical manufacture, but synthetic chemicals will be essential to solving the problems we face. We’re going to need recyclable, reusable complex polymers to build the bright green future we all want.
Transparency is going to be key to the transformation. Without it, there is little opportunity to change.
In addition, a couple of other (just small) things I think can facilitate the opportunity for change are:
Collaborate faster through the value chain with all actors
Set a carbon floor
Give central bank incentives, green bonds, better rates etc, and
Work with the insurance sector for active risk transfer.
Humanity is under a red code, but to change chemistry, we need to change people. If we can visualize a future of safe and sustainable chemistry, it will happen. It’s no longer a matter of whether or not we can do it, it’s now all about how to get it done! And with the collective minds in the room over the past few days, I feel bountiful hope in the truth of this.