Hundreds of industry leaders, policy makers, academia and value chain partners will converge in Dubai next month to discuss the future of plastics and its role in solving modern day challenges. 

 

The 13th annual Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) Plastics Conference from May 13 to 14, 2024 at the Address Sky View Hotel will take place at a crucial time for the global plastics community – just weeks after the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) being held this week in Ottawa, Canada. 

 

With eyes firmly set on the resolution from the high-profile meeting, which has set out to agree on an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, Arabian Gulf plastic producers and their value chain partners will descend to Dubai next month to discuss the technologies, innovations, and the need for collaboration that will help enable a sustainable transformation for plastics. 

 

Annual GPCA conference

Held under the theme “Innovating for Sustainable Growth – Charting the Future of Plastics”, the annual GPCA conference will attract leading global and regional plastic producers, policy makers, converters, brand owners, recyclers and members of the region’s youth to share insights and participate in thought provoking discussions about addressing the growing plastic waste challenge, while ensuring sustainable industry growth. 

 

Delivering the Welcome remarks on Day 1 will be Naser Aldousari, CEO, EQUATE Group and Chairman – Plastics Committee, GPCA, who will set the scene for the two-day event. Aldousari will be followed on stage by Jacob Duer, President and CEO, Alliance to End Plastic Waste, who will deliver a Keynote address entitled “Beyond the solo act: Composing a sustainable future together”. 

 

On Day 2, Othaibah Saeed Al Qaydi, Director, Municipal Affairs, Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, UAE, will join Jamila El Mir, Senior Advisor to the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion, COP28, alongside Monir Salem Bou Ghanem, Advisor – Environment Policy and Regulations, Integrated Environment Policy and Planning, Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi and Priya Sarma, Chairperson, Circular Packaging Association and Head of Sustainability & Corporate Affairs, Unilever Middle-East, Turkey, for a fireside chat in which they’ll discuss the opportunities and challenges in closing the loop on plastics for the Arabian Gulf region.

 

Dynamic array of session formats

This year the conference programme offers a dynamic array of session formats, including a Leadership dialogue, moderated by Moveed Fazail, Director, Polymers, S&P Global Commodity Insights, featuring Fayez Al-Sharef, CEO, Sadara; Khalid Al Dawood, MD, NATPET; and Muayad Al-Faresi, MD, Equipolymers GmbH. 

 

Delegates will have an exclusive opportunity to hear from Naif Al-Ayed, CEO, NUSANED Investment Company, who’ll present a case study about enabling the development of a regional conversion industry. Senior industry leaders from Sabic and brand owners PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble will come together to discuss the quest to sustainable innovations, and particularly the regional opportunities to a global challenge. 

 

With plastic production expected to double by 2030 and then double again by 2050, the need to enable the circular economy and address the plastic waste challenge is more important than ever. 

 

From the nascency of viable recycling technology, to a lack of robust infrastructure, a lack of coordination and standardisation of plastic waste, a number of challenges confront the industry today. Therefore, circularity will require concerted effort from all stakeholders involved and public-private dialogue to become a reality. Sara Jackson, Technical Director, Circular Packaging Association, will address this topic and more as part of a dedicated presentation on Day 1. 

 

Power of associations

The final day of the conference will host a must-attend Keynote address by Yavuz Eroğlu, President, PAGEV and Board of Directors Chair, SEM Plastik (Türkiye), who’ll address the power of associations in accelerating the green transition. The conference will facilitate important conversations about advancements in recycling technology, achieving zero plastic loss, priorities for the packaging industry, emerging markets, overcoming cost pressures and supply chain challenges, and much more. 

 

Dr Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, Secretary General, GPCA, commented: “The plastic landscape is facing significant disruption as a result of mounting regulatory pressure, changing consumer habits, demand for more recycled and recyclable plastic, and supply chain challenges. As the modern world requires solutions which are reliable, sustainable and circular in nature, the responsibility on the industry is high to invest in innovation and value chain collaboration to enable more sustainable materials fit for a future that is more demanding than ever before.”

 

“The 13th GPCA Plastics Conference aims to address the themes that will prevail in the short term and shape the future of plastics, and facilitate the exchange of knowledge from some of the industry’s leading minds on how to address the plastic waste challenge, how to build a more sustainable and profitable plastic industry and how to design products with circularity in mind,” he added.--TradeArabia News Service