Insufficient communication and too much emphasis on controlling factory capital expenditures means that manufacturers pay massive energy-inefficiency costs over the lifetime of their plants, according to research firm IHS.

Analyst Insight: Complex executive priorities and deeply embedded functional tendencies present challenging organizational dynamics to the chemical supply chain leader. These challenges require a combination of operational effectiveness and leadership vision and influence to establish a hierarchy of layered and synchronized governance processes that connect differentiated execution to segmented demand fulfillment strategies. Features of this integrated capability will include supply and demand visibility with analytics that support agile decision making to manage and mitigate complex constraints. - Paul Lord, Research Director, Gartner

Chemical production is often described, understated as it might be, as a "harsh" operating environment. Machinery, components and workers are subjected to extreme temperatures, pressures and substances as they generate end products that can be used in a multitude of ways.

U.S. carbon dioxide emissions generated from energy consumption and production fell 3.8 percent in 2012 to 5,290 million metric tons, reaching their lowest level since 1994, according to a report from the Energy Information Administration.