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The International Year of Chemistry (IYC) US kickoff event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania featured an impressive panel - two major chemical company CEOs, the founder of a pharmaceutical firm and several distinguished members of academia and research institutions.

The discussion on the world's major challenges such as population growth and the growing need for food, water and energy, and chemistry's role in solving these problems, was interesting. Partnering with other countries and organizations came out as an imperative to achieve tangible results.

Clearly one of the goals of the IYC is to move the public discussion away from the usual concerns about pollution and toxicity, and towards how chemistry can actively solve some of the world's toughest challenges.

The United Nations has given the global chemical industry a big stage with the IYC, and the sector must "seize the year," as US-based Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris said, to be advocates of change for the good of humanity.

Ultimately, a broader shift in public perception about the industry could lead to less restrictive regulations that hinder chemical manufacturing, as well as more policies that benefit the sector.

While not an expressly stated goal of the IYC, this would be a welcome long-term development, enabling the ultimate enabler industry to better meet the world's challenges.

It's great to have this discussion on how chemistry can solve the world's most pressing problems - among executives, academia and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

But there is one important element missing thus far - and that has been broad media coverage.

To reach a broader audience, coverage must go beyond the trade and local press. Liveris said the industry must "insert itself into the public discourse."

That's going to take courage. The best way to do that is to get involved in controversial debates that will catch the attention of the public.

In the past, the sector has been on the defensive and largely avoided these debates. But if the industry can generate or get involved in some provocative programming that will reach the broader public, it will go much further than if the discussion is kept within business and academic circles.

Would executives be willing to participate in a public forum - for example, a TV program called "Chemicals - Threat or Savior?" At the risk of over-quoting Liveris, let's take a "glass-half-full view."

 

Photo credit: www.chemistry2011.org

LOOKING BACK on three years since our first Green issue back in February 2007, what a wild ride it's been!

Back then, the concept of green and sustainability in chemicals was just starting to catch on in a big way. Companies were beginning to realize the commerical potential from green products - those made from renewable resources, as well as those that could help their customers save on costs, primarily energy.

Consumers and key chemical end markets such as automotive, construction and packaging were headed on the green road and are still firmly on the path today.

Doris de Guzman, our resident Green blogger, notes the proliferation and higher visibility of start-up companies since the start of the ICIS Green Chemicals Blog in November 2007.

Some of these new companies, such as Minnesota, US-based Segetis, are not just seeking to offer alternative petroleum-based chemicals, but developing novel chemical compounds from scratch - biomass scratch.

While the climate change policy debate rages on and lines on the battlefront are drawn, in the big picture, the green revolution has just begun. And energy efficiency will be a vital component.

Whether you're a believer in climate change or not, reducing energy consumption and costs should be a goal that is universally accepted.

THERE'S NO question that innovation is the key driving force for the chemical industry and its customers - and particularly in times of crisis.

While there's always the need to cut costs in a downturn, slashing research and development is truly detrimental to a company's long-term future and success.

"Innovation, especially in the midst of crisis, is of utmost importance. By cutting for even one year, you can create severe damage which is incomparable to the short-term benefit from savings," said Dr. Werner Breuers, the head of R&D at German specialty chemicals firm LANXESS, in an interview in New York.

Plus, during times of crisis, it is typically the new and innovative products that are the least impacted. "It is much easier to differentiate new and innovative products in a crisis. In the one-and-a-half years since the crisis began, these have been much less impacted," Dr. Breuers said.

Everyone talks a good innovation game, but you have to walk the walk. In 2009, even while LANXESS cut costs significantly, it actually raised R&D spending by 10% to around €110m and plans to boost that figure by another 10% in 2010.

US-based Dow Chemical also took great pride in maintaining record levels of R&D spending of about $1.6bn in 2009, even while cutting capital expenditures by 50%.

Spending money does not guarantee success. There are plenty of other factors at play, including collaborating with customers and universities, as well as fostering a culture where creativity and communication can lead to quick decisions.

In a speech to the German American Chamber of Commerce's New Year's Reception and Luncheon on January 20 in New York, Dr. Breuers cited a quote from Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com:

"There is no bad time to innovate. You should be doing it when times are good and when times are tough... It's such a deep-seated belief, I'm not sure we have a choice.

 

Photo credit: LANXESS

Sure - love makes the world go 'round as they say, but really it's energy. And with an increasing population as well as industrialization, the world undoubtedly needs more of it.

Clearly there is no one answer to the billion-dollar energy question. Encouragingly, we are exploring a multitude of new methods to produce and transport energy - and many of them cleaner and greener.

Some are high tech and futuristic, like the international consortium constructing the world's largest nuclear fusion reactor in southern France at a cost of $10bn.

But other sources have been around for millennia, and just need to be better exploited.

The US is tapping into vast quantities of onshore natural gas reserves in shale formations through use of new technologies. The country now has an estimated 100 years worth of supply versus the traditional eight years.

And Brazil is making greater use of its fields of sugarcane. It already is supplying its growing domestic market with sugarcane ethanol for flex-fuel vehicles. New tax policies will make flex-fuel cars the standard versus gasoline-only cars.

The next step will be to use a by-product in the sugar production process called bagasse to generate electricity on a greater scale.

Even though the world's largest hydrocarbon discoveries in recent years have been made off the coast of Brazil, it is still developing alternatives.

A good diversity of energy sources is key. Relying too heavily on one source - whatever it is - has its pitfalls.

 

Photo credit: sodahead.com

"Making money is art and working is art, and good business is the best art," once said the acclaimed pop artist Andy Warhol.

And unveiled on October 14 at The Andy Warhol Muesum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, was a sculpture celebrating 100 years of synthetic rubber use since its invention in 1909 by Fritz Hofmann.

Called "Wheel of Fortune" and commissioned by German specialty chemical and synthetic rubber producer LANXESS - the sculpture is a three-dimensional timeline depicting the expansion in the worldwide production of synthetic rubber through the years.

LANXESS, with the help of the museum, reached out to 15 global artists and asked them how they would interpret the 100th anniversary of synthetic rubber while using LANXESS synthetic rubber as a medium.

The Wheel of Fortune by Ryan Alexiev, Loren Madsen and Hank Willis Thomas was selected as the winner.

The amazing growth of synthetic rubber would not be possible without a continual process of innovation, shaping and altering its characteristics to suit specialized needs - from high-performance car tires that hug the curb at high speeds, to strong and flexible bungee ropes, to gaskets, garden hoses and shoe soles.

"This is a perfect venue for this event. When you think of Warhol, you think of innovation, out-of-the-box thinking, risk-taking and an entrepreneurial spirit," said Randy Dearth, CEO of the the company's North American arm LANXESS Corp., at its "Unnatural Rubber" celebration. "We believe all these traits helped us become a success five years after our spinoff."

In September, LANXESS was selected as the ICIS Company of the Year for outstanding financial performance in 2008.

"I make my living in the chemical industry with a focus on innovation and science," said Dearth. "However, I have always believed there was an art to science and conversely a science to art."

The art of innovation is truly what keeps the tires rolling in the fast-track evolution of business.

Video and photo credits: ICIS

When the European Chemicals Agency unveiled its top picks of chemicals of high concern to be dealt with most urgently under the EU's Reach chemical regulation, long-established flame retardants were included. Elsewhere, a plethora of bans and restrictions on substances such as these, plus other plastic additives, are coming into force.
In the US, the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act restricted the use of phthalates in toys and other children's products earlier this year. And even China, which has a reputation for lax environmental regulation, has introduced legislation that seems to be tougher than European equivalents.
The chemical industry tends to react against these restrictions, claiming they are based on unsound science. Whatever the rights and wrongs of that argument, this can undermine good public relations. The American Chemistry Council recently acknowledged that the
industry's handling of the controversy about bisphenol A (BPA) in babies' bottles could have been better.
Put "BPA" into Twitter, the online messaging service, and you'll see a lot of messages from people claiming the industry is trying to stop regulators from protecting them. With tougher regulation of plastic additives a fact of life, the chemical sector must think carefully about getting a smart PR message out there.

Strolling through a glasshouse at Kew Royal Botanical Gardens, London, the other day; I noticed some strange paper packets hanging from the branches of the exotic trees growing there. Closer inspection revealed the name Syngenta. I'd discovered a biological control device full of organisms which would control pests.
The fact that a world-class garden such as this - with its many research links to mainstream agriculture - is using biopesticides gives an indication just how acceptable and widespread this form of pest control has become.
This is still a tiny sector, accounting for only 1-2% of the $32bn (E22.9bn) global pesticide market. But consultants estimate it is growing by more than 20% year, especially in conventional agriculture.