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Short abstract:

This presentation explores how internal industry documents in the chemical sector are utilized in scientific literature, revealing corporate strategies influencing public policy. Our scoping review identifies 15 papers detailing pervasive chemical corporate influence.

Long abstract:

Internal corporate documents provide crucial insights into academic and industrial chemistry, revealing opportunities and challenges for responsible innovation. We conducted a scoping review spanned 28 academic databases, seeking peer-reviewed scientific articles that examine the internal documents of chemical corporations. To categorize corporate influences within the chemical industry, we utilized theoretical frameworks such as Marc-Andre Gagnon and Sergio Sismondo's ghost management, Ulrich Beck's concept of risk society (1992), and Michel Foucault's order of discourse/things (2013).

Gagnon and Dong's review on pharmaceutical corporate capture found 37 papers published before 2022, while our study on the chemical industry identified only 15 relevant papers. When comparing the two industries, fewer papers examine how chemical corporations employ scientific (28 vs. 13), professional (16 vs. 7), and market (4 vs. 2) captures. However, the chemical industry review shows higher instances of regulatory (6 vs. 13), civil society (4 vs. 6), media (3 vs. 4), and technological captures (2 vs. 3) compared to pharmaceuticals.

Both industries employ conflict of interest and legitimization strategies to protect their corporate interests and deflect public policy inquiries. However, a significant distinction lies in their objectives: the pharmaceutical industry primarily aims for profit maximization, while the chemical industry focuses on institutionalizing ignorance, evading liability, and preempting regulatory actions.

This presentation exposes intentional efforts by chemical corporations to promote ignorance and foster conflicts of interest, thereby legitimizing their business models and safeguarding chemical corporate interests. Those chemical corporate captures highlight barriers to responsible innovation but also present an opportunity to rethink public policy.