Christian Jourquin, ceo of Solvay and
European Chemical Industry Council
(Cefic) president, told delegates at
the Cefic Global Chemical Industry
European Convention in Lisbon,
Portugal, that the EU chemical
industry is ‘facing an unprecedented
challenge’. ‘We cannot just be
satisfied with green shoots,’ he said.
‘We are not out of the recession.’
Jourquin went on to say that,
while there are tentative signs of
recovery, it may be years before
the EU chemical industry returns
to its January 2008 performance.
What he is looking for now is a
long term vision for the industry
from governments to create an
environment that will enable
chemicals to flourish in Europe.
Theo Jan Simons, global chemical
industry lead at Accenture, speaking
at a forum on the downturn, agreed
that the chemical industry is facing
difficult times. He noted that EU
chemical output, relative to GDP,
has seen an accelerated decline.
He attributed this to the production
of more durable products, greater
recycling and companies moving
production facilities outside the EU.
Simons said that to counteract
this trend companies ‘need to take
growth and sustainability to the
next level’. Pointing to differences
across the world in resources,
regulation and climate levies,
Simons added: ‘The world is not flat;
there is simply no such thing as fair
competition.’ He also warned of a
looming ‘war for talent’ with most
engineering graduates now being
educated outside the developed
economies.
Jourquin said that climate
change remains the world’s
biggest problem and that it is here
that the EU chemical industry can
excel. ‘We should not forget that
there can be no low carbon future
without the chemical industry.’
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