Net-zero chemicals industry initiative relaunches as the Global Impact Coalition

Image Credit: Global Impact Coalition

In what’s being called the chemical industry’s first-ever CEO-led coalition, BASF, Sabic, Covestro, Clariant, LyondellBasell, the Mitsubishi Chemical Group, and Solvay have banded together to form the Global Impact Coalition (GIC), an initiative designed to help develop net-zero production for the global chemical industry by 2050.

The Coalition – said to be supported by more than 70 senior industry executives – evolved from the earlier Low-Carbon Emitting Technologies (LCET) initiative, which was developed by the World Economic Forum three years ago.

“I see immense potential in reshaping the chemical industry’s impact on our planet,” GIC CEO Charlie Tan said in a Nov. 30 statement. “One of our goals is in forging new pathways to achieve this, through collaboration, business model transformation, and solid partnerships that create true value in our drive to a net zero future. I am extremely excited to lead the charge, focused on less talk, more results.”

The GIC said it will create and foster new partnerships to address challenges that cannot be effectively tackled in isolation. The group plans to serve as a platform to catalyze meaningful projects and R&D collaborations with the goal of meeting decarbonization objectives.

Some examples of the coalition member company projects include the R&D Hub for Plastic Waste Processing, which focuses on developing new technologies for waste processing with a lower CO2 footprint and greater levels of plastic waste recycling, and the Electrically Heated Steam Cracker Furnace, a collaboration to construct the world’s first demonstration plant for large-scale electrically heated steam cracker furnaces.