Climate-KIC: Sustainability in the chemical industry

Dr. Agnes Heinemann, Provadis School of International Management and Technology, writes about her experiences of the kick-off event for the Climate-KIC professional education project, Climatico.

Around 150 participants from the chemical industry, academia, politics and industry associations took part in the event on “Greenhouse Gas Accounting as Part of the Sustainability Reporting in the Chemical Industry” in the historical building Peter-Behrens-Bau in the industrial park Frankfurt-Höchst to hear lectures, exchange experiences and discuss with scientists and practitioners. Speakers included for example experts from BASF, Evonik Industries and CDP.

This kick-off-event was the first phase of a 18-month Climate-KIC professional education project called Climactio. The programme will support companies in the chemical industry in measuring their carbon emissions as well as starting to develop a corporate climate strategy focusing on new business opportunities.

Climate-KIC aims at creating new partnerships to integrate research, business and technology to transform innovative ideas into new products, services and jobs. Climactio as part of Climate-KIC “aims at creating a strong and long-lasting knowledge community”, says Hannes Utikal, the vice-president of Provadis Hochschule. “Participants will be offered training and consultation on climate change impacts and policies, tailored to their specific needs. At the same time we will generate insights into the specific challenges this important industry faces with regard to climate adaptation and mitigation”, he adds.

Tina Buchholz, climate change expert from the project partner VCI, highlights that “the event put in perspective for chemical companies the necessity to go into CO2-Footprinting. Consequent benefits may not be of financial nature but an edge on competitors in case of requests of customers. But activities derived from an individual analysis of risks and opportunities help to be prepared for an emerging trend”.

Read more about Climactio on their website!