Fiona van den Brink is not new to the Global Impact Coalition (GIC). As a member of GIC’s Executive Committee since inception, she has been at the heart of the coalition’s work. Four months into her role as Chair of the Executive Committee, she brings her leadership expertise and a hands-on, direct and deeply committed approach. Her belief is that the chemical industry’s defining challenges can only be solved together.
Fiona is Senior Director of Innovation Platforms and Net Zero Technologies at LyondellBasell, a leader in the global chemical industry and a founding member of GIC. Based in the Netherlands, she has built her career at the intersection of technology, sustainability and cross-industry partnership and has been part of GIC’s Executive Committee for the past 3 years.
She understands the challenge from the inside. She has voiced and set out with characteristic clarity the economic tension facing the industry. She said: “We are at the front of this value chain as it is set up today, which means many of the investments will be in our space, on our sites and in our assets. The value sits further down the value chain, and that is the core challenge we face. That is why collaboration across the value chain and with research institutes and governments, and access to funding, are essential to support the transition and to de-risk the large investments we need to make.” As Executive Committee Chair, Fiona is harnessing her knowledge, experience and position to meet these challenges to drive the success of GIC.
During her time at GIC, LYB’s active engagement includes the flagship Automotive Plastics Circularity pilot, which confirmed the technical feasibility of recycling end-of-life vehicles where 8 metric tonnes of plastic were recovered from 100 vehicles of different ages, makes and conditions.
GIC’s model is straightforward in its ambition and precise in its execution. The coalition operates on a 12-18 month co-creation cycle, moving from idea to investable pilot within a single year. A pace that would be unthinkable for most individual companies tackling the same challenges alone. Where pre-competitive collaboration can be made to work, at speed, on problems that have defied solution for decades.
GIC creates a space where direct competitors can sit at the same table, and work together to find opportunities for collaboration, co-invest in pilots and with shared accountability for delivery. This requires trust and trust requires structure and an environment to succeed, which is what GIC enables.
The chemical industry generates two billion tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually. No single company can move that number alone. GIC was built on that recognition and Fiona van den Brink is now helping to turn that ambition into reality with her fellow ExCom-members, GIC CEO Charlie Tan and the team.
