The Green in Green Chemistry
March CM&E Lunch Report
The ACS York CM&E group hosted another outstanding lunch last Thursday at the award-winning Aureole restaurant in New York City. The theme was a panel discussion on green chemistry and we were honored to have as co-moderator the ICIS Green Blogger, herself, Doris de Guzman. I was the other moderator and the panel was a tremendous mix of banker, mature company and new company – i.e.
- Chris Cerimele, head of chemicals at Houlihan Lokey
- Bob Barclay, co-founder of Martek
- Jason Anderson, VP Business Development, Novomer
A remarkable feature of the session was – no powerpoint! It may be just me but I get the impression that people just simply pay more attention when there are no slides. We had a rapt audience of over 50 in the room and another 10 or so on the webcast. Just a sample of some of the highlights of the discussion:
- The “green premium” – what will consumers pay for and how much will they pay to be green? – Answer: Zero. These businesses have to bring value to consumers in terms of product performance and cost – just like any other product. That was the unanimous conclusion of our pane.
- Europe – leading the way in green businesses? Not exactly – in many ways Europe is jealous of the robust capital and intellectual markets that allow new businesses to flourish in the USA.
If you missed this lunch, you have an opportunity every month – the first Thursday – to join us. On April 7th, we have a presentation on Growth Opportunities in Specialty Pharma by Michael Higgins, Managing Director of Rodman & Renshaw. In May, we have the long awaited Latin American event, sponsored by CM&E’s own cachaça distiller, Sagatiba of Brazil (yes, that is free caipirinhas for all attendees - and we haven’t yet figured out how to deliver those via the webcast). Senior executives from Blackrock Latin America and Petrobras will discuss opportunities in Brazil and Latin America in general.
The Green in Green Chemistry
March CM&E Lunch Report
The ACS York CM&E group hosted another outstanding lunch last Thursday at the award-winning Aureole restaurant in New York City. The theme was a panel discussion on green chemistry and we were honored to have as co-moderator the ICIS Green Blogger, herself, Doris de Guzman. I was the other moderator and the panel was a tremendous mix of banker, mature company and new company – i.e.
· Chris Cerimele, head of chemicals at Houlihan Lokey
· Bob Barclay, co-founder of Martek
· Jason Anderson, VP Business Development, Novomer
A remarkable feature of the session was – no powerpoint! It may be just me but I get the impression that people just simply pay more attention when there are no slides. We had a rapt audience of over 50 in the room and another 10 or so on the webcast. Just a sample of some of the highlights of the discussion:
· The “green premium” – what will consumers pay for and how much will they pay to be green? – Answer: Zero. These businesses have to bring value to consumers in terms of product performance and cost – just like any other product. That was the unanimous conclusion of our pane.
· Europe – leading the way in green businesses? Not exactly – in many ways Europe is jealous of the robust capital and intellectual markets that allow new businesses to flourish in the USA.
If you missed this lunch, you have an opportunity every month – the first Thursday – to join us. On April 7th, we have a presentation on Growth Opportunities in Specialty Pharma by Michael Higgins, Managing Director of Rodman & Renshaw. In May, we have the long awaited Latin American event, sponsored by CM&E’s own cachaça distiller, Sagatiba of Brazil (yes, that is free caipirinhas for all attendees - and we haven’t yet figured out how to deliver those via the webcast). Senior executives from Blackrock Latin America and Petrobras will discuss opportunities in Brazil and Latin America in general.