In March 2021, a survey found that 74% of British firms suffer from delays with EU markets. Post-Brexit, anyone entering contracts involving the supply of goods – including chemicals - between the UK and EU member states must think about issues such as the risk of delivery problems if long delays at channel ports continue.
Dwindling demand for animal-based products and growing interest in sustainability are driving innovation in leather alternatives, and now is the time to invest, according to new data from Lux Research: The Next Alternative: Leather. Read more in C&I Magazine.
Despite more people choosing to study STEM subjects at university, the scientific industry is still suffering from a significant skills shortage. Search Consultancy’s 2021 Skills Shortage Report shows 74% of organisations within the sector are currently feeling the strain, with a shortfall of around 173,000 skilled STEM workers. On average, this leaves business understaffed by 17%.
A major challenge for industry, regulators and environmental professionals is reacting appropriately to emerging contaminants. This is especially relevant for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a broad group of some several thousand synthetic fluorochemicals, which are the focus of dramatically increasing regulatory action.
A ‘by chance’ conversation just over two years ago introduced BASF to the concept of Carbon Literacy training and set us on a journey of stakeholder engagement on climate change. We knew then that a problem exists (the climate crisis), that we as an organisation played our part in it and that we had a strategy aimed at overcoming it.
Some 60,000 people were able to access cannabis medications for the first time in Europe in 2020, bringing the total to 185,000 patients. The value of the European market will reach €406m by the end of 2021: a year-on-year growth of 75%. Read the full comment in C&I Magazine.
Materials that hold a negative value or that companies do not realise have any value that can be recovered will most likely be lost in the disposal process. This means every year millions of pounds worth of precious metals could be being literally poured down the drain. Read the comment article in C&I Magazine.
Just among us chemists, I’ll bet many of you have shared the ‘pariah’ experience. ‘Eew, you work with chemicals…or the chemical industry…or with plastics’ and so on, accompanied by a withering stare. Read the comment article in C&I Magazine.
Most business leaders will, at some point, need to pitch for investment. Unless you’re a scion of a rich dynasty, as your business grows you will need an injection of capital to keep moving forward.
The early 2021 cold snap in the US dramatically impacted the country’s petrochemical industry. The concentration of the winter storm was particularly pronounced in Texas, which geographically represents the workhorse of the US olefins industry, paralysing US petrochemical production and disrupting 15% of the global olefins market. Read more in C&I Magazine.