I am excited about the progress we are making in building diverse relationships and partnerships in both industry and government. After reviewing some highlights of CIC’s recent activities, I hope that you will agree. The continued support of all of CIC’s members, sponsors, and partners has enabled this. A sincere thank you for continuing to engage with CIC and the Canadian chemical sciences community.
Best,
Ian Jobe,
Executive Director, The Chemical Institute of Canada
Sustainability: The chemical sciences contributing to solve global challenges
At the Chemistry conference in Quebec City in June, I organized an inaugural half day symposium on “Chemistry for Sustainability” featuring speakers and panels from industry, government, and academia. We talked about sustainability (people, planet, and profit), the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Responsible Care ®. It was part of an industry program with four symposia, opportunities to network with students, and other symposia organized by volunteers. The industry program was a success and created good momentum going forward.
After the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada’s (CIAC) GOOD Chemistry conference in May, our Canadian Chemistry Conference in June, and discussions with other associations in the US, UK and Germany, we took the initiative to venture on a path of enhanced promotion of the chemical sciences profession as a key contributor to solving global challenges through the UN SDGs. This aligns to values and beliefs of industry, government and society and will appeal to current and future members from all sectors. Our first big splash is with the Chemical Engineering conference, taking place right now in Halifax, where we have aligned the conference program to the SDGs.
For the Chemical Engineering conference we have also secured some key industry and government leaders as plenary speakers, including:
- Joy Romero, VP Technology and Innovation, CNRL. Chair of the Clean Resources Innovation Network (CRIN);
- Denise Leblanc MacDonald, Director General, NRC, Aquatic and Crop Resource Development Research Centre; and
- Shaffiq Jaffer, VP Corporate Science and Technology Projects, Total Americas.
Building industry and government partnerships
- CIC joined CRIN this past spring, and I am a member of the CRIN Steering Committee. It’s a great opportunity for the CIC to be part of this exciting initiative now approaching 1,000 members, including individuals, corporations, institutions, government, and NGOs.
- CIC recently embarked on developing a workshop around Athena SWAN and STEM with the National Research Council Canada (NRC). As a result of the effort, we have a new enhanced relationship with the NRC. I’m excited about how this could progress.
- CIC is progressing with the CIAC on two fronts: chemical process safety (a partnership between CIAC’s process safety network and CSChE’s Process Safety and Management subject division) and partnerships with industry and responsible manufacturing.
- Conference engagement and support has grown in 2019, with retention of current general sponsors NOVA Chemicals, Gilead and Bruker. DuPont, Arlanxeo, Xerox, RioTinto, Imperial Oil and Canadian Natural (CNRL) have engaged with CIC conferences again, and other sponsors are pending as they attend conferences for the first time in many years.
Engagement in the global chemical science community
The Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) is:
- Hosting the International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) General Assembly and World Chemistry Congress, August 13-20, 2021 in Montreal. We will hold this is conjunction with our annual Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition. A premier program aligned to the conference themes of energy, health, sustainability, society, and science frontiers aligned to the SDGs is in development. Industry and young/early career chemists will play significant roles in the program;
- An integral partner in the organization of the inaugural Commonwealth Chemistry Congress working closely with the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) and the societies of West Indies, Australia, Nigeria, India and South Africa, bringing 54 countries together in Trindad, May 2020. The theme for this esteemed event is “Partnership for the Goals,” centred around the UN SDGs and featuring leaders in the selected fields as well as early career researchers;
- Partnering with the American Chemical Society (ACS) to develop a Chemistry Enterprise Agreement between the parties aligned to membership value, and together enabling progress in selected UN SDGs, including education, responsible manufacturing, R&D infrastructure, energy, health and the environment; and
- Partnering with the ACS and chemical societies of Japan, Australia, New Zealand, China, and Korea in the organization of the 2020 International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies (Pacifichem) to be held December 15-20, 2020. As a member of the organizing committee, we are in the position to influence how the program is aligned to solving global challenges. CSC is the host society for Pacifichem 2025.
The Canadian Society of Chemical Engineering (CSChE) is:
- A member of the World Chemical Engineering Council and Engineering Institute of Canada;
- A member of the International Advisory Board for the 2021 World Chemical Engineering Congress being held in Brazil; and
- Initiating efforts to develop enhanced connections with the AIChE and the Centre for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS).