Thrive Through Turbulence – Insights from EPCA’s Annual Meeting

PSA BDP joined industry leaders at EPCA’s Annual Meeting in Berlin, held under the theme “Thrive Through Turbulence.”
The 59th Annual Meeting brought together more than 2,500 professionals from 500+ companies across the global chemical and logistics sectors.

The tone of the conference was realistic, even cautious, with many of the speakers acknowledging that the European chemical industry continues to face persistent challenges. According to Oxford Economics’ Chemical Outlook (Q3 2025), Eurozone chemical output is forecast to decline again in 2026 (–0.6%), following a sharper contraction in 2025. This prolonged downturn reflects ongoing strain from high energy costs, weak demand, and rising global competition.

Yet despite the realism, a shared determination to adapt clearly emerged. Discussions throughout the event highlighted not only the scale of the challenges but also the growing opportunities for resilience and collaboration.
 

Lessons learned: Building Strength in a Volatile Landscape

Despite the sobering outlook, the EPCA 2025 Annual Meeting offered valuable lessons on how to turn volatility into strategic strength. Three key themes stood out across the event sessions and discussions: resilience, sustainability, and digital transformation.

1. Resilience: turning volatility into strength

Flexibility, scalability, and visibility emerged as the essential pillars of a modern, resilient supply chain.

Speakers emphasized that true resilience goes beyond crisis response; it’s about designing networks that adapt before disruption strikes.

Achieving this requires deep collaboration between carriers, shippers, and logistics partners, ensuring that supply chains can flex without losing focus on service quality.

2. Sustainability

Sustainability took center stage, not as a side initiative, but as a core industrial strategy.
Conversations focused on closed-loop systems and chemical recycling, which transform waste into feedstock and help rebuild Europe’s industrial competitiveness.

These models represent both a sustainability initiative and an industrial strategy: helping Europe rebuild competitiveness while simultaneously meeting environmental commitments.

3. Digital transformation

While digital transformation remains a work in progress for much of the industry, one message resonated: Digitalization must serve people and purpose, not just automation.

The most forward-thinking companies focus on data-driven decision-making, collaborative visibility, and cultural transformation.

As many noted, analytics, leadership, and digital confidence will define the next phase of competitiveness

Conclusion: Adapting together

While the tone at the EPCA 2025 Annual Meeting was undeniably cautious, it was also forward-looking.

Across sessions, roundtables, and informal exchanges, the industry called for:

• Closer cooperation between chemical producers and logistics partners, ensuring greater alignment across production, distribution, and market strategy.

• Continued investment in digital tools and talent development, equipping teams with the analytical, technical, and operational capabilities needed to manage increasingly complex and data-driven supply chains.

• An ecosystem mindset where data, sustainability, and operational excellence connect seamlessly.

These priorities align closely with PSA BDP’s mission: enabling smarter, more resilient, and sustainable supply chains that help customers adapt and grow through change.