Suez, which describes itself as “a global leader in circular solutions for water and waste”, has joined the Global Impact Coalition (GIC). The firm has also committed to providing the coalition with its expertise in recycling and recovery, which are seen as essential to achieving the chemical industry's net zero and circularity targets. This includes collaborating with the industry on new circular business models and scaling up sustainable technologies.
Germany’s chemical industry trade association, the VCI, said that the mood in the nation’s chemical and pharmaceutical industry “cooled noticeably in August because the global economy did not pick up as hoped”. This applies particularly to chemicals. “A weak industrial economy in Europe, the USA and China, as well as a lack of price-competitiveness in Germany, are dampening sales opportunities abroad,” the VCI said.
International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG) has agreed to buy Clariant’s decommissioned bioethanol plant in Podari, Romania, for its biotech CDMO subsidiary Corden BioChem. No financial details were disclosed, but ICIG will rehire “a large proportion” of the laid-off employees and spend a double-digit million Euro sum, mainly in downstream operations, to make the site a flexible CMO.
Catena-X and industry body Together for Sustainability (TfS) have launched PCF Verification Framework, an initiative to enhance the credibility and effectiveness of product carbon footprint (PCF) data across the automotive and chemical supply chains. This follows long-term collaboration between the two.
Clariant has agreed a deal to source ethylene with a lower carbon footprint from Austrian petrochemicals firm OMV. This, the company said, comes in response to increasing consumer demand for more sustainable options and will help both it and OMV to meet their sustainability targets.
Clariant has been offering segregated biobased ethoxylates through its Indian operation since 2022. It now wishes to extend this to the wider ethylene oxide derivatives portfolio while also strengthening the supply chain by producing “in Europe, for Europe”.
Scott Sandler from ABSG Consulting reveals the depth of the changes happening with the latest Rule changes to help ensure that people, plant and processes remain safer in their operations
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently finalised amendments to the Risk Management Program (RMP) on the Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention Rule. This was initially proposed in August 2022 and has imposed the most protective safety provisions to date for the chemical industry and facility operators.
Following public consultation, CEFIC has presented a paper with six recommendations in support of the European Commission’s proposals to update the existing EU regulation on pharmaceutical precursors. These are:
