The theme of this year’s World Environment Day1 celebrated on the 5th of June every year, is to focus on solutions to plastic pollution. Did you know that in 2021, more than 17 million metric tones of plastic have reached the water? This is just the beginning; it is anticipated that by 2040, it will either double or triple, and SDG 14 is working towards the goal of sustaining life in the ocean. As the number continues to rise, governments and corporations in every region of the world are being urged to take action!
A World Economic Forum article2 posted at the start of this year predicted that businesses would increasingly have to adopt digital and sustainable practices in the coming years. According to the article, goods, and services are responsible for more than 45% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The remaining 55% is a byproduct of energy use. Hence, we at Cellugy believe that there is a need to revamp how products are manufactured in order to operate the business in a novel way that is grounded in innovation and sustainability. This has been the guiding principle throughout the journey of the company, which we have adopted as our company philosophy. At the core of our mission is the belief that no single entity can achieve sustainability alone. Together, we can transition towards a circular economy, reduce harmful petroleum-based ingredients, and protect our precious ecosystems.
The waste produced by households and the service industry had been increasing prior to the pandemic, which shifted consumer behavior. The team at Cellugy believes that it takes a community of individuals, business models, and environmental processes all working together to improve our sustainability systems. As a result, our chances of leaving a healthy planet for future generations increase the sooner we collaborate across industries and the faster we learn.
There is a trend in Europe at the moment to switch from our old linear economy (i.e., cradle to grave) to a strategy known as a circular economy, or CE (i.e., cradle to cradle). This shift is currently taking place and we at Cellugy are riding this wave. The majority of the practitioners, place an emphasis on CE through the usage of terms like "material reuse," "product-remanufacturing," "component upgrading," and so on. In Cellugy, we have developed an energy-efficient and green platform technology that mimics the way cellulose is produced and assembled. The process uses standard fermentation and allows for more sustainable production.
According to the same World Economic Forum article mentioned previously, 45% of organizations with net-zero emission goals only use emissions data for mandatory reporting and do not incorporate it into their decision-making processes. At Cellugy, innovation and using technology to better understand our impact are central to our decision-making. We believe that today, businesses can design, construct, and scale products, operations, and services that are more intelligent, efficient, sustainable, and resilient. The move to the Alfa Laval Innovation House in Søborg inspired collaboration with Kaffe Bueno or our partnership with Lenovo and other sustainable companies. and together we are transforming the Personal Care industry with Fermentation. Read more about our partnership here.
The immediate concern for brand and manufacturing partners when it comes to incorporating a sustainable business strategy into their business is their suspicion of scaling such a model. Keeping this in mind and with the aim of radically reducing the volume of plastic and waste produced by the personal care industry, we designed EcoFLEXY. While most people associate the organic molecule cellulose with paper and trees, its uses extend far beyond those two things.
EcoFLEXY is produced by a white biotechnology process in which a specific strain of bacteria produces cellulose through the bioconversion of sugar. EcoFLEXY is a robust and versatile material with multiple prospective industry applications like barrier coating and rheological modification.
You can find out more about EcoFLEXY and how it can transform your business to commit to sustainability and innovation which is not just the need of the hour but also a demand of our future generations by reaching out to us on our website.
Works Cited
“About.” World Environment Day, https://www.worldenvironmentday.global/about/theme-host. Accessed 5 June 2023.
Capgemini. “The future of business is digital and sustainable. Here's why.” The World Economic Forum, 16 January 2023, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/the-future-of-business-digital-sustainable-davos2023/. Accessed 2 June 2023.
Statistics Denmark. “The Danish sustainability indicators.” The Danish sustainability indicators - Statistics Denmark, https://www.dst.dk/en/Statistik/temaer/SDG/danske-maalepunkter. Accessed 2 June 2023.
