Economic competitiveness is an integral part of sustainability. It is essential for creating a healthy business environment that fosters continuous innovation, supports sustainable transitions, and generates prosperity for society. A resilient chemical industry is crucial to this. Ensuring sustained economic growth and continued innovation that contributes to higher levels of economic productivity is instrumental in achieving SDG 8: ‘Decent work and economic growth’.
Contribution to the EU Green Deal
The European Green Deal is the EU’s new growth strategy, aiming to transform the EU into a fairer and more prosperous society with a modern, resource-efficient, and competitive economy. Research and innovation will play a leading role in accelerating and navigating the necessary transitions, deploying, demonstrating, and de-risking solutions, and engaging citizens in social innovation.
R&I spending in the EU chemical industry
To improve the sustainability performance of the chemical industry, it is important to identify disruptive technologies and further improve existing ones. To achieve this, investments in research and innovation (R&I) are essential. R&I is a key driver in maintaining the sector’s competitiveness. This aligns with SDG 9 and 12, which focus on ensuring sustainable production patterns through R&I. The EU Green Deal also recognises R&I as the engine of the green transformation.
Capital spending on R&I in the EU chemical industry increased annually, with an average growth of 2.9% from 2002 to 2023. In 2022, it peaked at €10.7 billion, the highest since 1991, followed by €10.2 billion in 2023. There is a relative decrease in R&I investment over the industry’s added value created. Additional investments, possibly from European innovation programmes, are essential to drive innovation.
R&I spending in the EU27 chemical industry
Value added as a proportion of GDP
The chemical sector is growing in absolute numbers, but not relatively to the EU GDP. Over the past decade, the absolute value added by the chemical sector has continuously increased until 2022. In 2023, the added value of chemicals reached €165 billion. However, its share of the European economy’s GDP declined from 1995 to 2009 and began to grow again after the economic recessions, reaching 1.12% in 2022 and 0.96% in 2023. More economic data of the European chemical industry can be found in the Cefic Facts & Figures.
Added value as a proportion of GDP
