One year COVID-19

Although no reason to celebrate, the pandemic’s influence cannot be denied and does not leave the chemical and related industries untouched. The pandemic also influenced the topics addressed in the first Journal of Business Chemistry issue 2021, albeit in different ways: The fifth session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM5) set to discuss the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) beyond 2020 was postponed while digitalization was sped up and with the exponentially growing amount of created data the importance of data science techniques increases likewise. COVID-19 replaced climate topics in the news but sustainability is far from being forgotten and decisions like the European Green Deal raise hope for a green recovery and transformation.

Graham Gibson´s article “The Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management: A Case Study of Transnational Public-Private Partnerships in the Chemicals Sector“ explores the strengths and weaknesses in the approach chosen in the SAICM. The results indicate that setting precise goals and establishing a connection to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are two important points to consider in future agreements.

In “When data science meets patent information – analyzing complex environments of innovation-driven industries“ Anton Block, Jan Hendrik Konhäuser, Jonas Meyerratken, Christiane Terlinde and Philipp Niklas Voß show how data-driven patent analysis can support management decision. They present four examples of use based on different data-mining techniques from the fields of antibiotics, stem cells, lithium-based batteries and personalized medicine.

In “Reducing the emissions scope 1-3 in the chemical industry“ Manfred Kircher discusses what needs to be done to move towards a truly climate-neutral chemical industry. He emphasizes that next to the energy related scope 1&2 emissions, scope 3 emissions need to be urgently reduced. Five options to reduce the emission potential by recycling and the use of non-fossil carbon are presented, namely biomass, recycling of residual and waste materials, plastic recycling and both carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide as carbon sources.

Please enjoy reading the first issue of the eighteenth volume of the Journal of Business Chemistry. We are grateful for the support of all authors and reviewers for this new issue. If you have any comments or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us at contact@www.businesschemistry.org. For more updates and insights on management issues in the chemical industry, follow us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/jobc/.

Janine Heck                    Bernd Winters
(Executive Editor)           (Executive Editor)