Introduction: A New Challenge Called Sustainability

The chemical industry has long been a core sector underpinning human progress, yet it is also deeply entangled with resource use and environmental impact. Today, this industry stands at a crossroads: how can it reconcile the demands of “traditional business practices” with the pressing “global sustainability challenges”?

This challenge is not merely about technological development; it compels us to revisit the very values and decision-making frameworks of enterprises. The notion of the “evolution of business” discussed by Laszlo (2003) provides valuable insights for understanding this transformation. To borrow Einstein’s words, the problems cannot be solved with the same kind of thinking that created them. Achieving sustainability requires us not only to develop new technologies and methodologies, but also to reconsider the ethics and paradigms of business itself.

The Business Paradigms and Their Impacts

Since the Industrial Revolution, profitability has risen dramatically, and business has become the foundation shaping social institutions and culture. In this process, several models became widespread:

• Survival of the fittest: a competitive mindset where “profit” is the ultimate measure of survival.
• Business as war: treating markets as battlefields where control and profit are pursued.
• Mechanistic organization: viewing companies as machines for efficiency, subordinating the human dimension.

These paradigms certainly contributed to efficiency and scale. Yet, by concentrating exclusively on “a single metric of profit,” they also pushed aside diverse values such as society, the environment, and human capital. The result was economic growth accompanied by side effects such as environmental destruction and widening inequality.

Fig.1 Profit-Oriented Business Paradigm in Modern Organizations

The Emergence of Sustainability

Against this backdrop, growth driven solely by the pursuit of profit began to be questioned. It became increasingly recognized that such growth had complex impacts on the environment, society, and human health.

Sustainability emerged as a response to these concerns. Its objectives are:

• Conservation of ecosystems and responsible use of resources
• Realization of economic and social justice
• Provision of a sound pathway for human self-fulfilment

In other words, sustainability is not merely a set of constraints; it points to a new direction for growth.

Transition to Business Enlightenment

In a new paradigm where sustainability is taken as a premise, profitability is not abandoned. Rather, it is redefined in such a way that it can coexist with social and environmental value.

• As an “organic model”, organizations adjust their strategies in response to ecological and cultural change, adapting to the future.
• Grounded in an ecocentric ethic, they seek win–win solutions.

When considering sustainability in the chemical industry, it is necessary to expand the scope of evaluation beyond the efficiency of an individual plant, and to include enterprises, regional ecosystems, the economy, and even global impacts (Figure 2). The figure illustrates a chemical plant as the starting point, from which concentric circles radiate outward, representing multiple layers of concern. This framework visually expresses the notion that sustainability aims not for partial optimisation but for overall optimisation.

Within this paradigm of overall optimization, the central question is how to connect ideals with implementation. What matters here is not to treat profit and sustainability as opposing, but to design solutions in which both can coexist. To this end, recent digital means—such as Materials Informatics (MI) and Laboratory Automation (LA), hereafter referred to collectively as the “digital foundation”—are beginning to provide practical tools for reconciling complex interests and constraints.

Fig.2 Multi-Layered Paradigm of Sustainability in the Chemical Industry

Characteristics of Sustainability Challenges in the Chemical Industry 

Sustainability presents the chemical industry with challenges of a unique nature. It is not limited to mere “efficiency improvements at the plant level,” but compels a rethinking of the system as a whole. It requires consideration not only of reducing the environmental impact of products and processes, but also of ripple effects across entire supply chains and society at large.

The Need for a Dynamic understanding

Sustainability is not a fixed target; it is a concept that evolves in response to changing social and technological circumstances. The chemical industry must provide products and processes that simultaneously meet the three elements of economy, society, and environment, while also possessing the flexibility to respond swiftly to regulatory shifts, market fluctuations, and technological advances.

Securing such flexibility requires mechanisms that enable comparison and evaluation of future scenarios, as well as decision-making that accounts for complex factors. Here, data-driven approaches play a crucial role. For example, informatics can facilitate scenario analysis and demand forecasting based on diverse datasets, while laboratory automation provides reproducible experimentation that supports the rapid testing of adaptive measures in response to environmental changes.

Expansion of System Boundaries

To realize sustainability, the chemical industry must broaden its evaluation framework beyond the efficiency of a single plant, expanding it step by step to encompass entire supply chains and complete product life cycles. It is essential to distinguish between “which stages are to be evaluated” and “the scope at which they are integrated.”

Stages of evaluation (elements across the life cycle):

• Raw material procurement (e.g., the use of biomass and associated land-use changes)
• Manufacturing processes (energy efficiency, utilization of by-products, etc.)
• Distribution and use phase (product lifetime, safety, etc.)
• Disposal and recycling (circular design)

Analytical scope (three layers of expansion):

1. Plant level: improvements within plants such as energy input, by-product reduction, and operational efficiency of equipment.
2. Supply chain level: evaluation covering raw material sourcing, logistics, and distribution, including environmental and social costs incurred until products reach the market. For example, when utilizing biomass feedstocks, it is necessary to ensure that their cultivation and land use do not lead to deforestation.
3. Life cycle as a whole: comprehensive assessment including product safety during use, longevity, and systems for recycling and re-materialisation after use. Sustainability does not end once products are brought to market; it must be examined across the full sequence from use to disposal and recirculation.

In integrating these multiple perspectives, the digital foundation is indispensable. MI integrates data generated at different stages, linking them to a common basis for optimisation. LA enhances the efficiency and standardisation of experiments and measurements, thereby ensuring reproducibility and throughput of the data that feed into the system.

As a result, connecting the various layers—from plant to supply chain to the life cycle as a whole—through data becomes essential for the next generation of the chemical industry, enabling it to pursue not “partial optimisation” but “overall optimisation.”

Evaluation of Socio-Economic Dimensions

Among the three pillars of sustainability, economic aspects are the most advanced in terms of evaluation methods. Yet challenges remain. For instance, the integration of life cycle assessment (LCA) with economic models, which would enable assessment of macro-level impacts of decision-making, is still in its infancy.

Meanwhile, in the social dimension, CSR and ESG activities are progressing, but the challenge lies in connecting science and engineering with social impacts. For example, when developing new materials, it becomes necessary to clarify how such developments relate to job creation, community wellbeing, and human health.

Here too, the digital foundation can serve as a bridge by visualising the intersections between engineering data and social data, thereby making “invisible value” visible for decision-makers.

Alignment with Planetary Boundaries 

The framework of “Planetary Boundaries” proposed by Rockström et al. defines the environmental limits within which human activity can safely continue to exist. The chemical industry is intimately connected with these boundaries (Figure 3).

• Climate change: contributing to the reduction of GHGs (CO₂, N₂O)
• Ocean acidification: protecting marine ecosystems by curbing emissions
• Nitrogen and phosphorus cycles: managing runoff originating from fertilizers and chemical products
• Freshwater use: improving efficiency of water use across supply chains
• Novel chemical entities: reducing risks posed by plastics and unregulated substances

Respecting these boundaries is not only an ethical responsibility but also a prerequisite for accessing future markets.

But how, in practice, can industrial activity proceed without crossing these boundaries? To achieve this, it is essential to accurately measure emissions and resource use, predict their future impacts, and reflect these insights in decision-making. Here again, informatics technologies can play a role, providing the scientific evidence and the practical capability needed for society and industry to implement boundary-respecting designs.

Fig.3 The nine Planetary Boundaries and the challenges for the chemical industry

In addition, the chemical industry faces the following pressing challenges:

• Redesigning production routes under conditions of constrained resources
• Complying with international regulations and treaties (e.g., REACH, CSRD)
• Developing and securing chemical substances that are safe for both human health and the environment

Such circumstances call for design and optimisation that anticipate regulatory requirements and efficiency improvements, rather than responding retroactively. Regulations are frequently tightened in dynamic ways, and resource conditions fluctuate. Thus, merely adhering to static rules is insufficient. Instead, competitiveness increasingly depends on the ability to “predict future risks and incorporate scenarios in advance.”

At this point, the question arises: how can the digital foundation be applied? By embedding regulatory requirements and resource conditions into models at the design stage, and by making risks and constraints visible so that scenarios can be compared, companies can move from reactive compliance toward proactive innovation. Such a foundation not only drives the chemical industry but also supports medium- to long-term market access.

The Significance and Opportunities of Addressing Sustainability

For the chemical industry, tackling sustainability challenges is not merely a matter of regulatory compliance or bearing additional costs—it can lead to the creation of new opportunities. In fact, adopting a proactive stance toward such challenges becomes a key source of competitiveness and trust.

It is crucial to shift the mindset from “sustainability = constraint” to “sustainability = a driver of innovation.” In this transformation, the digital foundation plays a vital role, enabling accelerated exploration, management of uncertainty, and the conversion of data into valuable assets.

Improving Eco-Efficiency and Generating Profit

Enhancing resource and energy efficiency reduces environmental burdens while simultaneously cutting costs.

• Optimisation through MI: deriving conditions for yield improvement or by-product reduction with fewer experimental trials.
• Autonomous experimentation via LA: efficiently exploring energy-saving designs and continuous process conditions.

As a result, the alignment of “reduced environmental burden = improved profitability” can be achieved.

Expanding into New Markets

Meeting unmet social and environmental needs opens doors to entirely new markets.

• Bio-based chemicals, recyclable materials, green hydrogen, etc.
• Fields directly tied to societal challenges, such as healthcare, agriculture, and energy.

MI enables rapid screening of vast numbers of candidate materials, identifying those with the performance, safety, and LCA compliance required for commercialisation.

Innovations Benefiting All Sides

Designing with sustainability as a premise leads to win–win solutions:

• Developing high-performance polymers while ensuring circularity
• Increasing the efficacy of agricultural chemicals while reducing environmental residues
• Achieving both high performance and recyclability in battery materials

Such cases were previously considered domains of unavoidable “trade-offs.” MI, with its capabilities in multi-objective optimisation and simulation integration, offers not compromises but genuinely new optimal solutions.

Building Core Competitiveness under Stricter Regulation

Resource and environmental regulations are expected to be further strengthened. In this environment, what is needed is not merely the ability to comply, but the capacity to anticipate and pre-emptively align with these requirements.

• Embedding regulatory conditions into models from the research stage
• Reflecting societal demands in KPIs
• Ensuring data-driven transparency and fulfilling accountability

By doing so, companies can evolve from being seen as “compliance-oriented” to being recognised as “leaders driving regulation.”

Delivering Value to Stakeholders

Providing visible and shareable sustainability outcomes to diverse stakeholders—local communities, policymakers, customers—creates strategic advantage.

• Transparent reporting of LCA results and emissions
• Establishing systems that contribute to regional resource circulation
• Enhancing brand value through the accumulation of social trust

Here again, MI functions as a foundation for visualisation, turning complex datasets into accessible information.

Further Prospects

These efforts produce ripple effects beyond the immediate.

• Contribution to policy formation: insights derived from industrial data feed into policymaking and international rule-setting.
• Maintenance of social trust (operational license): ensuring transparent operations and regulatory alignment secures continued societal acceptance.
• Elevation of ethics: moving beyond simple profit-seeking to become corporate actors contributing to the resolution of global challenges.

This trajectory combines sound business rationality with ethical significance.

Conclusions and Implications for Researchers

The evolution of the chemical industry toward sustainability is far from easy. Entrenched business models and a multitude of social, economic, technological, and environmental challenges stand in the way. However, the rewards of this effort are substantial, simultaneously satisfying both business rationality and social legitimacy.

For researchers and engineers, this shift implies a redesign of decision-making processes. In materials and process development, it is no longer sufficient to consider only performance and cost; the ability to integrate environmental and social indicators is increasingly essential. MI and LA hold immense potential to support this transformation, and their applications are already multiplying across diverse domains.

References

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