Sustainable Development Report 2015 People
Planet
Prosperity
Products
www.essensciaforsustainability.be
Yves Verschueren, Managing Director essenscia
EDITORIAL
ABOUT THIS REPORT
The chemical, plastics and pharmaceutical industry is playing a leading role within our society, striving to become more sustainable. The solutions it offers are numerous and varied. Agriculture, mobility, health care, household goods, the construction sector, the climate ... all of these are areas where the contributions by chemistry and life sciences are of paramount importance towards the creation of a better and more sustainable future.
This fourth biennial sustainability report illustrates, on the basis of many examples and good practices, the strong commitment of the chemical and life sciences industry towards the three most significant pillars of sustainable development: People, Planet and Prosperity.
Chemistry is a fantastic science that enables us to modulate and adapt matter in function of its capacity to enhance our societal well-being in a constantly changing world. The risks that accompany innovation need to be assessed objectively and correctly estimated within a framework of preventative parameters. The chemical and pharmaceutical industry is investing major sums in research and development in order to be able to offer guarantees in a number of essential areas such as maximum consumer safety, minimum environmental impact and a more efficient performance in order to improve everyone’s quality of life.
An innovative industry with the aim to create a better and more sustainable future The industrial activities within the Belgian chemical and pharmaceutical sector continue their progress towards sustainable development. And this journey is never quite at an end. Our online report offers you, by means of a simple, easily accessible structure, an overview on the advancement that has been realized in Belgium by an industry that remains convinced of its undoubted growth potential within our country.
Yves Verschueren, Managing Director essenscia
Our industry in a nutshell
88,225 jobs
145,000 indirect employment
64.2 billion ¤ turnover
This is supplemented by a fourth chapter for Products. Hereby showing that the chemical, plastics and pharmaceutical industry is constantly developing innovative products that are not only safe to use but also offer sustainable solutions for the major global challenges our society is facing. This leaflet is only a brief summary of the sustainable development report. The full version is exclusively available online in Dutch, French and English. The different chapters are easily downloadable, enabling readers to create their own customized reports.
What’s new in the 2015 report? The current issue of the sustainable development report presents a new indicator on resource efficiency. For the chemical and life sciences industry, it is self-evident to treat raw materials in a sustainable manner by optimizing the production processes, transforming to a circular economy and exploring the opportunities of industrial biotechnology. As a result, the production index has increased by 41% over the past eight years, whereas the proportion of energy used as a raw material has decreased by 8%. These figures show clearly that an increasing amount of value is being created per quantity of raw material used. Furthermore, essenscia fully subscribes to the new United Nations’ global goals for sustainable development. These goals are stated in the present report when they are related to the indicators used.
23
billion ¤ trade balance
3
billion ¤ R&D-expenditures
Products
People
A wide range of innovations for a sustainable future and a better quality of life
Embracing human capital to keep our industry at the top 18,1%
43
16% 2003
% of the researchers
2013
aged 50+
Welcoming young talent to compensate for retirements
Expanding our share in the industrial employment
Promoting diversity and gender equality
62%
Sustainable construction To provide comfortable living Thermal insulation, window frames, piping and membranes, intelligent coatings and paints, construction materials, solar panels and materials for renewable technologies
46% Almost half of all employees have a higher degree (university and higher education) resulting in a highly skilled workforce
Permanent education is key. In 2013, 62% of all employees followed a training program
Safety remains a top priority. The rate of accidents at work is nearly half of the average in the manufacturing industry
Planet
Leading the way in energy efficiency and environmental care
Product safety To avoid risks both for mankind and the environment Risk management, safe use icons, substitution, training throughout the supply chain, awareness campaigns, stewardship programs
Health and well-being To build a better and longer life Innovative vaccines, effective medicines, antimicrobial products, detergents
Production +41%
+
energy efficiency
Resources -8%
-84% 1987
Focussing on energy efficiency. Since 1990 the total production of our industry has tripled, whereas energy consumption has only grown by one third
Producing more with fewer resources. In the past 8 years production rose and the use of resources decreased thanks to resource efficiency
CO2 -80%
Limiting acidifying emissions to barely 3% of the total for Belgium Water is life To guarantee better water quality
-90% Improving water quality by reducing the specific COD (chemical oxygen demand) in process wastewater with more than 90% since 1987
High grade water technology, wastewater treatment, sustainable water use, water resources preservation, plastic piping for zero water loss
70%
COD
Since 1990 our industry has managed a significant decrease of greenhouse gas emissions per production volume unit
2013
An important pillar of the Belgian economy thanks to innovation
Sustainable use To ensure a well-informed and sustainable use of our products
1.78
Sustainable agriculture To support sustainable food production
billion ¤
1
Fertilisers, crop protection, nutrient additives, phytopharmaceuticals, packaging for enhanced food conservation
3
Belgium remains the world champion in chemicals, plastics and biopharmaceuticals on a per capita basis, accounting for almost one third of the total value added in the manufacturing industry
N°1 Our industry is number 1 in Belgium for export generating a structural positive trade balance of 23 billion ¤
Attracting forward-looking industrial investments: 1.78 billion ¤ on average per year over the last 10 years, hereby covering 30% of the Belgian total in 2013
x2
258
patents per year
since 2003
The most innovative sector in Belgium with more than 3 billion ¤ spent on R&D, covering nearly half of all private R&D-expenditures in Belgium
Industrial biotechnology, new energy solutions, biobased resources, light weight solutions in aeronautics and automotive, hydrogen fuel, new generation inks
Recovering industrial waste either as materials or as energy. Waste recovery doubled the last decade
Prosperity
2
Inventing tomorrow’s solutions To be a frontrunner in innovation
Breaktrough research leads to almost ‘a patent per working day’, counting for 35% of all granted patents in Belgium
Discover the full report on www.essensciaforsustainability.be People
Planet
Prosperity
Products
Minimal dosing, sustainable sourcing, resource efficiency, recycling and recovery, circular economy, waste to chemicals
Responsible editor: Yves Verschueren, Managing Director essenscia, Diamant Building, Boulevard Auguste Reyerslaan 80, B-1030 Brussels, Š 2015 Some icons are designed by Freepik
Discover the full report on www.essensciaforsustainability.be
essenscia Belgian Federation for Chemistry and Life Sciences Industries Diamant Building Boulevard Auguste Reyerslaan 80 B-1030 Brussels T + 32 2 238 97 11 F + 32 2 231 13 01 info@essenscia.be www.essenscia.be www.facebook.com/essenscia essenscia_NL essenscia_FR