SABIC demonstrates commitment to sustainable development at WEF

25/01/2018 16:41 AST

For the third consecutive year, SABIC is displaying a concept of an energy-efficient, quick to construct, and reusable building at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, from January 23 to 26, demonstrating the company's commitment to invest heavily in innovative sustainability projects.

Dr. Abdulaziz Saleh Al-Jarbou, SABIC Chairman, will host a reception for a number of global business leaders attending the WEF at the iconic structure, called ICEhouseT - where ICE stands for "Innovation for the Circular Economy."

ICEhouseT was built using SABIC's LEXANT sheet and systems for the walls, ceiling, roofing and windows. It promotes breakthrough technology and the architect William McDonough's concept of the importance of closed-loop, durable carbon systems. William McDonough, sustainability pioneer, and his companies, William McDonough+Partners and WonderFrame LLC, designed and built ICEhouseT with SABIC's collaboration and support. ICEhouseT represents a prototype for innovative building designs and structures that can be rapidly erected, and are useful in applications such as addressing the housing needs of people in extreme distressed situations.

Commenting on SABIC's sustainability-centered participation at the WEF, SABIC Vice Chairman & CEO, Yousef Al-Benyan said, "We believe that sustainability provides short-term gains while strengthening long-term prospects for any organization, both internally and externally. This is why we have embedded sustainability in the fabric of our business and actively seek collaboration with thought leaders, such as William McDonough. In the process, we are benefiting global society, while, at our home base in Saudi Arabia, we are enabling Vision 2030 by stimulating downstream growth."

Complementing the ICEhouseT at the WEF, SABIC will outline its work to underpin its continued commitment to help solve the issue of plastic waste. It is the company's key ambition to decouple plastic from purely fossil-based feedstocks and drastically reduce the leakage of plastics into nature.

SABIC General Manager for Corporate Sustainability, Frank Kuijpers said, "Plastic waste that is today being incinerated or used for landfill, will in future be chemically recycled. We are the first in the industry that is committed to scale up high-quality recycling processes for chemical recycling of mixed plastic waste to the original polymer. SABIC has the know-how, the resources and the resolve to help reduce the waste-stream."

Kuijpers added, "Plastics are valuable and have many benefits. We believe that the steps we are taking today will directly affect the world, the economy and the quality of life in decades to come."

SABIC is a global leader in diversified chemicals headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We manufacture on a global scale in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, making distinctly different kinds of products: chemicals, commodity and high performance plastics, agri-nutrients and metals.

We support our customers by identifying and developing opportunities in key end markets such as construction, medical devices, packaging, agri-nutrients, electrical and electronics, transportation and clean energy.

SABIC recorded a net profit of SR 17.8 billion (US$ 4.8 billion) in 2016. Sales revenues for 2016 totalled SR 132.8 billion (US$ 35.4 billion). Total assets stood at SR 316.9 billion (US$ 84.5 billion) at the end of 2016. Production in 2016 stood at 72.7 million metric tons.

SABIC has more than 35,000 employees worldwide and operates in more than 50 countries. Fostering innovation and a spirit of ingenuity, we have 12,191 global patent filings, and have significant research resources with innovation hubs in five key geographies - USA, Europe, Middle East, South Asia and North Asia.

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