UK's Chemistry Leadership Council is up and running

A Chemistry Leadership Council has been set up in the UK in line with recommendations made in the Chemicals Innovation and Growth Team Report, submitted to and supported by the Minister for Science and Innovation Lord Sainsbury last December.

The report set out a route map that the chemicals industry and Government should take to ensure a vibrant and competitive industry in the UK in the future. It recommended the formation of a team consisting of leaders from the industry, from the DTI and from outside the industry including academia, consumer companies and those that represent broader societal issues.

Under the chairmanship of Barry Stickings, chairman, BASF plc, the Chemistry Leadership Council includes representatives from ICI, Cambridge Display Technology, BP Chemicals, Robinson Brothers, Avecia, the University of Durham, the University of Cambridge Chemistry Department, Marks & Spencer, AstraZeneca, Amicus MSF and Forum for the Future.

It was also with forming groups to implement the other recommendations contained in the report. A Futures Group has been formed, chaired by John Speirs, former ceo of Norsk Hydro UK, to address the issue of improving the industry's alignment with societal values including sustainable development, reputation and self-regulation. An Innovation Group with Avecia's Jeremy Scudamore as chair has been in action for several months working on the innovation recommendations of the CIGT Report, and a Skills Network Group has been formed under the chairmanship of Gareth James to deliver the skills and competences recommendations.

'The objective is to take a clear leadership role in steering the chemicals industry towards greater innovation, profitable growth and sustainability,' said Stickings. 'We will achieve this only if everyone in the industry and associated with the industry works together to lever existing achievements to a higher plane.'