Looking back over the past year, it may be my imagination but I did not seem to hear the word ‘sustainability’ referred to as often as I used to in the trade press, and the mouths of politicians and industrialists.

In the last few weeks in particular, the news media across the world have been bombarding us with discussion and comments about climate change. The President’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Change agreement shocked the rest of the world and, to quote one European journalist, ‘needlessly harms America’s reputation’.

One of the opportunities afforded by the strong dollar is that acquisitions outside the United States by American corporations become increasingly attractive.

I am sitting at my desk soon after the recent U.S. presidential election, reflecting on the implications of the result and the stated goal of President-Elect Donald Trump to revoke U.S. support for last year’s Paris agreement to combat climate change.

Last December, this blog reviewed the past year in the coatings industry from the perspective of sustainable development and also looked ahead to 2016. I was delighted to receive a comment full of encouragement for the sentiments that drive this blog, as follows

As the year end approaches, it is a timely moment to review the achievements of the coatings industry and propose some key activities for the years ahead.

Back in March, I wrote a blog for the PCI website that reflected on the rout in the oil markets of the world and discussed how this might impact the commitment of the coatings industry to sustainable development.

While the emphasis of the European Coatings Show was principally one of incremental technical improvements across the board designed to enhance the performance and functionality of coatings, there is a growing expectation that sustainable development will become the critical source of competition for coating companies and their suppliers in the future.

The rout in the oil markets of the world is having an impact in every corner of society.