Sustainability agenda creates challenges and opportunities for regional petrochemical industry, say experts at 3rd GPCA Sustainability Conference
The global drive towards mitigating climate change presents clear challenges for business; however, there are opportunities on the horizon, said speakers at the 3rd Sustainability Conference in Dubai. Hosted by the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association, the forum gathered industry experts from the downstream sector, government officials and global consultancies to discuss the latest developments related to the subject.
" Sustainable development can be defined as fulfilling the needs of today without compromising the capability of future generations to fulfill their own requirements," said Ahmad Al-Ohali, Chief Executive Officer, Sipchem. "It is typically described as the triple bottom line which concentrates on individuals, world and revenue. The key concern that emerges is how do we translate the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and visions into sector strategies that create value?"
Al-Ohali highlighted that all six GCC states have national visions that cover significant styles related to diversity, education, capable national workforce and environment change mitigation.
" Sustainability needs end to end linkages throughout the operations of your organisation. The secret is connecting this into actions that likewise add to international goals," continued Al-Ohali. "For example, if the sustainable development objective has to do with 'Zero cravings', the relevant sector would be health and nutrition. In addition, there would be a requirement for applications that supply solutions for physician connected to nutrition, as well as safe product packaging for existing food. This is where the chemical market can action in with ingenious options."
"From 2007- 2016, 139 petrochemical tasks were introduced in the GCC valued at US$ 215 billion. "However, the future holds no certainties so we need to collaborate to discover solutions that meet the needs of around the world mega-trends like population growth, urbanization, increased energy need and financial globalization."
From the regional management's point of view, climate change is a top priority, inning accordance with a senior government official.
" Climate change is not simply a danger; it is a chance," stated Fahed Al Hammadi, director of Climate Change at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. "It can drive greater financial growth and create jobs."
Al Hammadi discussed that the area's petrochemical market can focus on the best ways to develop worth from the sustainability program through innovations and services that benefit their business, while at the same time meeting environmental goals. "The region's oil and gas industry is a fine example-- Abu Dhabi, for example, has decreased its gas flaring by 34% in its oil fields since 1995. And the petrochemical market across the GCC is utilizing carbon capture innovation to shop and use carbon dioxide, developing closed loop operations."
During the Sustainability Conference, the GPCA launched their yearly Responsible Care Metrics report, which measures health, security and environmental (HSE) indications across the GPCA's member companies.
This shows an industry- large advancement to sustainability," said Dr. Abdulwahab Al- Sadoun, Secretary General, GPCA. "With the Paris Agreement at COP21 last year, measurement of activities like carbon emissions and energy usage is important, particularly in the light that the GCC nations are signatories to a binding arrangement to reduce environment modification."
According to the Responsible Care metrics report, GCC business have actually reduced their total energy usage, from 63.01 million tons of fuel equivalent in 2014, to 36.66 million tons of fuel equivalent in 2015. While this is a positive development, metrics related to carbon emissions reveal a minor boost in the same duration, meaning that more work needs to be done to alleviate the impact of greenhouse gas emissions.
" While some indices reveal favorable improvements, others show that the petrochemical industry still has some work to do," explained Dr. Al- Sadoun. "With COP22 around the corner, you can anticipate the regulative action and legal advancements around the Paris Agreement to take shape. As residents of a global economy, the GCC's petrochemical sector must figure out methods that harmonize with the worldwide drive to sustainability-- for the good of the environment and for the good of future generations."
