9.2 Diverse Viewpoints
221
9.2
Diverse Viewpoints
The interactions between the chemical industry and the rest of society can be
extremely diverse. Figure 9.1 depicts the variety of stakeholders that can interact
with and be affected by the industry’s operations and actions. Understanding the
many viewpoints, concerns, and interests of these stakeholder groups is important to
ensuring the societal acceptance of the industry and also for the industry to generate
better products and processes.
Fig. 9.1 Some of the important societal stakeholders for the chemical industry
In a commentary in the journal Nature Chemistry (Hartings and Fahy, 2011),
authors Matthew Hartings and Declan Fahy highlight that the public often suffers
from a developed fear of chemistry derived from its fundamentally complex nature,
as well as negative historical associations, brought about by events such as chemical
warfare in the First World War and industrial accidents. Recent international topics
such as plastic pollution, global warming, and drinking water pollution from lead
pipes and PFAS are not helping to mitigate this. Low levels of public confidence in
the chemical industry can likely be linked to a combination of several factors:
• Dramatic chemical accidents
• Suspected as well as manifest health and environmental damage from chemical
products or process emissions
• Limited knowledge of the chemical industry and its products and processes
• Lack of communication between the chemical industry and societal stakeholders
Perhaps an important, ongoing development affecting the perspective of the
general public is the rise of citizen scientists and public information platforms
221
9.2
Diverse Viewpoints
The interactions between the chemical industry and the rest of society can be
extremely diverse. Figure 9.1 depicts the variety of stakeholders that can interact
with and be affected by the industry’s operations and actions. Understanding the
many viewpoints, concerns, and interests of these stakeholder groups is important to
ensuring the societal acceptance of the industry and also for the industry to generate
better products and processes.
Fig. 9.1 Some of the important societal stakeholders for the chemical industry
In a commentary in the journal Nature Chemistry (Hartings and Fahy, 2011),
authors Matthew Hartings and Declan Fahy highlight that the public often suffers
from a developed fear of chemistry derived from its fundamentally complex nature,
as well as negative historical associations, brought about by events such as chemical
warfare in the First World War and industrial accidents. Recent international topics
such as plastic pollution, global warming, and drinking water pollution from lead
pipes and PFAS are not helping to mitigate this. Low levels of public confidence in
the chemical industry can likely be linked to a combination of several factors:
• Dramatic chemical accidents
• Suspected as well as manifest health and environmental damage from chemical
products or process emissions
• Limited knowledge of the chemical industry and its products and processes
• Lack of communication between the chemical industry and societal stakeholders
Perhaps an important, ongoing development affecting the perspective of the
general public is the rise of citizen scientists and public information platforms