The Jean Bélanger category is explicitly framed by Cefic around community engagement rather than technical or environmental performance, distinguishing it from the other award categories and signalling that the association treats workforce development and community outreach as a core, not peripheral, part of Responsible Care's mandate, consistent with Bélanger's original vision for the programme when he founded it 40 years ago. For chemical employers across the EU grappling with an ageing skilled workforce and difficulty attracting younger candidates into industrial careers, an award category dedicated specifically to this challenge underlines how central talent pipeline development has become to the sector's long-term competitiveness, alongside more commonly discussed concerns like energy costs and regulatory burden.

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