UP FRONT 01
EDITOR’S LETTER
The idea of ‘collaboration’ has a chequered history. During World
That collaboration extends up and down the supply
War II, collaboration was a by-word for ‘sleeping with the enemy’
chain too. Petrochemical manufacturers want to show
(at least metaphorically), and ‘Vichy’ and ‘Quisling’ became
themselves to be part of the solution, not the problem,
synonymous with national treachery.
and in order to be able to give the figures needed to support
In the business world, too, ‘collaboration’ was a concept only
that claim, they will need their logistics partners to be on
whispered, raising as it did ideas of anti-competitive behaviour,
the same track. Indeed, in a number of examples provided
the sort of thing that would bring down the wrath of anti-trust
in this issue of HCB, there are very specific illustrations
authorities. More than once I was warned off using the word by
of the new way of companies helping each other to achieve
trade associations wary of overstepping the mark, alert to the
the decarbonisation targets being set. In passing, one
fact that some senior executives had spent time in prison and
may wonder why some shippers are still using flexitanks,
companies heavily fined for breaches of standards.
a single-use plastics bag that presents significant
So it has been quite a change to see the word ‘collaboration’
disposal issues.
bandied about freely during recent conference discussions. Those
Another salient finding from the debate about achieving
same senior executives now have no compunction in promoting
a net-zero future has been the role of digitisation in providing
the idea of working together along the supply chain and across
the level of transparency needed to figure out exactly how
industry horizontals, despite the fact that market capitalism
each company’s emissions performance is progressing.
(at least on the face of it) shuns the very idea.
That transparency can also directly feed into emissions
Why the change in attitude? The answer is not hard to find. The petrochemical industry, as with its upstream cousin in the
reduction by improving asset utilisation and reducing waste in the logistics function.
oil refining sector, is faced with navigating an immense transition.
And industry is being pressed to make the transformation
The UN, the EU and national governments around the world are
at a time when operations are uncertain due to the Covid-19
foisting upon industry aggressive targets for decarbonisation,
crisis and, as many now expect, a deep and long economic
which for a hydrocarbon-based sector are raising serious
recession to follow.
questions about how those targets are to be met. During last month’s virtual EPCA Annual Meeting, CEO after
However it pans out, EPCA was probably right to ask its speakers to discuss how industry – and the world at large –
CEO talked about the need for industry to work together to find
can re-emerge into a post-pandemic environment that is
the solutions that will be needed to achieve the level of carbon
smarter, more resilient and more sustainable than the ‘old
reduction required. And not just work within the industry but to
normal’ that came before. The petrochemical industry has the
work with regulators to establish the sorts of regulatory and policy
tools and the experience to help make that future a reality.
frameworks that will enable them to focus on the path forward.
Peter Mackay
WWW.HCBLIVE.COM
