Soaring Towards Sustainability: Cefic Launches its 2023 Report

As we near 2024 and look towards new leadership in Europe, Cefic remains steadfast in its commitment to sustainability. Our aim is to ensure that the chemical industry, often referred to as the “industry of industries”, plays a crucial role in promoting sustainable development from environmental, economic, and societal perspectives.

“The path to sustainability is a journey, one that requires the chemical industry to continuously upgrade to improved processes, materials, and products,” said Ann Dierckx, Cefic’s Sustainability Director.

Our 2023 Sustainability Progress Report outlines how this year we focused on the creation of tools and instruments that support the green and digital transition as outlined in the Green Deal Communication by the European Commission.

• Continued development of Cefic’s Sustainable Development Indicators (SDI) to measure the chemical industry’s transition towards a climate-neutral Europe. Centred around sustainability pillars, our SDIs saw the introduction of a fifth pillar this year: “Construct: Prosperity & Competitiveness”.
• Amplified focus on a suite of key sustainability assessment tools: no sustainability claims without a sound basis.
• Tested the guiding framework, Safe and Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD), for developing safe chemicals and products.
• Publication of our vision on Sustainable Carbon Cycles: Given our expertise in carbon processing, the chemical industry can provide alternative fossil feedstocks, highlighting our vital role in the transition to climate neutrality.
• Launch of the “Sustainability Lab”: This series of events is crafted to spark innovative ideas, disseminate insights, and tackle sustainability challenges head-on.
• Industry feedback, provided by Cefic, to the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), with sector-specific guidance expected early next year.

In 2024, we will continue our outreach and dialogue efforts such as ChemistryCan, emphasising the industry’s progress towards a circular economy.

As we move forward, we will focus on emerging sustainability guidelines and standards, and develop a Cefic Vision on Sustainable Products, and continue our commitment to promoting dialogue and collaboration.