What to look for at EPCA

PUBLICATION PREPARED BY HCB FOR THE 53ND EPCA ANNUAL MEETING 6TH TO 9TH OCTOBER – BERLIN, GERMANY

GETTING TOGETHER

EUROPE’S PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY OPERATES IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD BUT THOSE WHO ATTEND EPCA’S 53RD ANNUAL MEETING THIS MONTH WILL FIND EXPERT HELP IN REDUCING THOSE UNCERTAINTIES

The European Petrochemical Association’s (EPCA) 53rd Annual Meeting, which opens its doors to delegates on 6 October in Berlin, comes at what EPCA CEO Caroline Ciuciu describes as a “crucial year” for the industry. Geopolitical and global economic stresses are posing challenges for Europe’s chemical manufacturers and their logistics partners.

EPCA’s role lies in helping its members navigate this evolving world, not to lobby for it, and so its Annual Meeting will present the results of ongoing work in three main areas that is designed to provide industry with the tools it needs. Specifically, these involve the promotion of relevant education in scientific and technical areas, the attraction of new and diverse talent to the industry, and research into ways of improving efficiency and sustainability in the supply chain.

EPCA’s Annual Meeting always provides a locus for discussion, not just through the various business sessions that take place over the four days of the event but also through the unrivalled opportunities it provides for attendees to meet industry leaders and external stakeholders.

TAKE TIME TO LISTEN The theme of this year’s EPCA Annual Meeting is ‘Writing Together the Next Chapter of the European Petrochemical Industry’, reflecting its belief that it is the community of chemical producers, specialist logistics providers and their strategic partners down the supply chain that are best placed to develop the way forward. EPCA stands for connecting, for sharing knowledge and forward thinking that can contribute to greater efficiency and sustainability in the sector. That means finding practical ways to strengthen cooperation between partners across the value chain and embed innovative thinking into industrial strategies, with the aim of generating sustainable growth in Europe.

To help that process, EPCA has brought in some high-profile speakers who will provide delegates with knowledge to inform their decision-making as industry faces up to the uncertain future. To start the event, Paul Romer, co-winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, will speak about ‘growth economics’; the chemical industry is a prime motor of economic development, both in the developed and developing areas of the world, and has an important role to play in ensuring that growth is maintained. Recent game-changing investments in Europe announced by major international producers show that the region still has the potential to play that role.

But that growth can come at a price and the petrochemical industry is having to deal with growing concern over plastics pollution. Finding a way to close the plastics recycling loop is a major task and one that will require innovation to solve. This topic will be debated during the EPCA Annual Meeting by Tom Crotty, INEOS Group managing director, and Patrick Labat, senior executive vice-president, northern Europe at Veolia, one of the founding members of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW).

On the topic of sustainability, regular visitors to the EPCA Annual Meeting will notice some changes this year, not least the absence of a bag full of printed material. The attendance booklet and other publications will instead be available on the EPCA website and on a dedicated mobile app.

LEADERS OF TOMORROW The magnitude of sustainability challenges demands transformational changes that require some reengineering of business as well as new social skills and competences. Addressing issues of recycling and sustainability will inevitably require new approaches, which may be best managed by attracting young talent with energy and new ideas to put them into practice.

Not only does that talent need to be brought into the industry, it also needs to be developed, as the young people joining the chemical industry today will be its leaders tomorrow. How current business leaders can embrace these challenges and develop the right competences to take industry forward will be discussed in the business session on 'Talent of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow', with keynote presentations from Stephen Hahn-Griffiths, chief »