As the world is changing around us and faces additional great challenges to those posed by tackling climate change and feeding 9 billion people on the planet, Cefic has started to develop a European Chemical Industry Mid-Century Strategy.
Our recommendation to the European policymakers
This Mid-Century Strategy report will serve as our “recommendations” to policymakers, targeting the next generation of European policymakers, in particular the new European Commission, which will take office in November 2019, and the new European Parliament that will be elected in June of 2019.
The report aims to highlight the opportunities for our industry to deliver solutions in the context of a sustainable, digital, low-carbon and safety-conscious European society, and the conditions under which we can achieve this immense transformation.
The report builds upon economic data, megatrends, science and technologies, alongside many existing reports regarding the future of our industry. It aims to address gaps, societal concerns, UN Sustainability Goals and the European Commission priorities.
Expected outcomes
- A comprehensive document (report) with a vision and narrative of what the industry could look like in 30 years and an illustration of how the chemical industry can contribute to key challenges such a sustainable cities, low-carbon mobility, and a vision how the digital revolution can accelerate these contributions;
- The start of an open dialogue around the solutions provided by the chemical industry, and the conditions to make that happen.
First outcome of the stakeholder engagement
As part of the project to develop a Mid Century Strategy, Cefic started engaging with stakeholders in an early phase of the process. Through a Delphi survey, an online consensus-building tool, we invited stakeholders to give their view on trends and the role and position of the chemical industry in the future. The aim of the Delphi survey was to get an outside in perspective to help us develop a possible baseline scenario taking into account global developments within the economy, society, geopolitics, technology and environment and identifying potential implications on the chemical industry’s future in Europe.
With the support of the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies (CIFS) and with a representation from our members, we developed key assumptions on the future of society and on the meaning for the chemical industry. We used previously developed studies on innovative technologies, energy efficiency and circular economy, we extrapolated economic data and we analysed megatrends that might possibly affect the chemical industry.
The participants of the Delphi were selected leaders and subject matter experts from various public, private and non-governmental organisations, as well as experts from the chemical industry, whose collective knowledge and insight are valuable to the chemical industry.
The Delphi report will be used as input for the Mid Century Strategy. We expect to release the report in Q1 2019. Please find the outcome of the Delphi here.