A dual transformation agenda for Europe’s chemicals industry

"The strongest chemical company transformations in Europe perform a difficult balancing act: improving performance while radically reshaping portfolios, operations, and capital allocation.

European chemical companies are confronting a critical question about how their businesses will earn the right to exist and to invest in the future. Those that wait for better market conditions will likely keep running faster to stay in place—improving performance but falling behind strategically. Those who act now—boldly, clearly, and with discipline—may have a chance to rebuild competitiveness and secure their role in future value chains.

The companies that come out stronger will do three things at once. They will confront the financial realities of their business and make hard strategic choices. They will improve performance in their current operations as much as possible. And they will build the leadership, processes, and discipline required to combine the first two.

Taken together, all three decisions will determine whether a transformation becomes the engine for strategic renewal or remains a set of isolated efforts."