European chemical industry's contribution to sustainable development

Chemical research and innovation is a key enabling factor in achieving a sustainable and equitable global society. The European chemical sector is a key player in the global chemical and pharmaceutical market and has been working to improve its own sustainability for many decades. Initiatives such as the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry are developing new solutions that will further reduce the environmental impact of the sector, while boosting its energy and resource efficiency, and introducing new materials and processes based on renewable resources for use by society. These innovative solutions catalyse sustainability in other sectors and value chains and will help realise concepts such as a truly circular economy. To effectively implement such solutions requires close cooperation between government, industry and research bodies.