Chemicals industry must focus on 'pragmatic sustainability': S&P Global's Eramo

This content is part of the WPC 2025 series, where we explore key themes from the 40th annual World Petrochemical Conference.

After 40 years of growth in the chemicals industry, the same scale of advancements in the coming decades will occur in 30 years or less as industry players balance practicality with sustainability, S&P Global Commodity Insights Co-President Mark Eramo told World Petrochemical Conference attendees March 18.

While the industry is currently in a supply-driven profit downturn that is taking much longer to recover from compared to previous downturns, population increases and global GDP growth continue to spur consumption of durable and nondurable goods that keep demand growth steady, Eramo said.

In the four decades since the start of WPC, chemical capacities on a world scale have evolved from being discussed in thousands of tons to millions of tons. China -- once considered "a far-off location to send surplus material to" -- is now the largest chemicals maker on a country basis after billions of dollars in investments, Eramo noted.

As the industry landscape evolves, it will be necessary to explore multiple growth avenues, he added:

"It's not about which road to take, it's about venturing down many roads at the same time."

Chemicals versatility shines

Among the commodities highlighted as innovative industry solutions were epoxy resins, engineering resins and polymers. In the transportation sector, polymers including epoxy resins help reduce weight and increase fuel efficiency in vehicles among other benefits.

"These products represent the best solutions in terms of cost performance and even carbon intensity when compared to the alternative materials," Eramo said.

Platts, part of S&P Global, launched a US liquid epoxy resins assessment in December 2024. Domestic liquid epoxy resin was last assessed at 152 cents/lb DDP USG on March 11, stable from a week ago.

Eramo acknowledged the impact of current geopolitics on supply chains, as well as on energy security and affordability issues. As these conversations have evolved, China still "sits firmly at the epicenter of what happens in the chemical industry," he said.

However, demand growth is expected to shift in the next five years, with India and Africa expected to account for nearly 40% of the world's population by 2030.

Looking to the future, the industry is well positioned to balance practicality and sustainability, Eramo said.

"It's about pragmatic sustainability... we have to enable this pragmatic sustainability with innovative solutions, and that's what this industry is absolutely the greatest at."