Creating a sustainable future for personal care products

This year the CIEX conference will be held in Frankfurt, Germany on the 5 & 6 October. Leading up to the event, we speak to Coralie Alonso, Ashland R&D Leader for Hair Care and Home Care to give you a glimpse of what to expect from her session: The challenge of balancing performance and sustainability in personal care products.

“The future is exciting, bringing new challenges, new puzzles to solve. No one can do it alone therefore industry leaders need to be collaborative and open minded.”

CIEX: Without giving too much away –what is the core message of your talk and what would you like delegates to remember?

Coralie Alonso: The chemical industry has a major role to play to enable the change in consumer habits for a sustainable future in personal care. With increasingly greater emphases going forward on cleaner, safer technologies including the use of biotechnologies for example, the future innovations increasingly require multidisciplinary skills / diverse teams from the outset. Lots of scope for innovation/ideas in the coming together of such skills/varied backgrounds. We as an industry have to (collectively/collaboratively) play a leading part in addressing the challenges of climate change.

CIEX: Why did you choose the topic of your talk?

Coralie Alonso: Every change brings opportunities. I strongly believe this is an amazing time to work in the industry. The chemical industry is undergoing a fundamental change, having to address new demands on sustainable approaches. To be successful we need to be creative, innovative and collaborate more than ever. I think this is very motivating.

CIEX: What motivates you to join CIEX 2022 and what are your expectations?

Coralie Alonso: The personal care industry needs new solutions, I hope to get inspired by innovative ideas from other parts of the chemistry world, and exchange ideas. Our CTO at Ashland recommended CIEX to me as a great platform for networking.

CIEX: The need for innovation has been a continued topic for the chemical industry –how would you sum up the current state of the industry, specifically with a focus on its innovation efforts?

Coralie Alonso: From my vantage point of view in personal care, it looks like the industry in on the verge of a revolution or a re-invention at least. We need to bring new solutions, sometimes to problems that have already been solved. That requires new ways of thinking, and this is difficult, but we are getting there. And with the help of in silico tools, we will get there faster than anticipated. The innovations reaching the market now are more and more creative. The future looks bright.

CIEX: What must (chemical) industry leaders do to remain competitive and prepare for the future?

Coralie Alonso: The future is exciting, bringing new challenges, new puzzles to solve. No one can do it alone therefore industry leaders need, in my opinion, to be collaborative and open minded. Good ideas can come from anywhere, we need to stay connected. We need to keep investing in Innovation – it is key. The chemical industry needs to continues to embrace the advances in clean technologies including biotechnology, and work collaboratively to make them work on industrially relevant scales. The adaption of biotechnology driven advances offers new areas of opportunity or exploration for new chemical products and/or for cleaner ways to make them, or to make existing products.

Join us at CIEX 2022 on the 5 & 6 October to hear more from Coralie Alonso and other industry experts from Solvay, Clariant, Nobian, Evonik, GFBiochemicals, Pryme, Dow discuss game-changing innovation through collaboration. Tickets are available at ciex-eu.org.

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Partnership and collaboration through Open Innovation with Croda

At CIEX 2021 Nick Challoner, President Life Science at Croda talked about the company’s strategy to unlock innovation through partnerships and collaboration. The below is a summary of Nick’s presentation.

Introduction

Everyone would agree that there have been long-term alterations to the pattern of the weather and temperature. These alterations can be natural, like the variations in the solar cycle. However, these alterations could be biological or influenced by man’s activities. The solar process causes naturally influenced changes, but human activities have been the primary driving force.

Climatic Changes

Since the 1800s, anthropogenic events have led to the revolution in the world today. Similarly, burning fossil fuels like oil, coal, and gas drives climatic changes. Burning these fuels produces emissions that deplete the ozone layer, trap the heat from the sun, and increase the temperature of the earth. Significant examples of greenhouse gas emissions are carbon dioxide and methane.

Deforestation, burning coal, or driving a car that uses gasoline will increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the environment. Gathering garbage in landfills is the major contributor to methane release. The use of energies, emissions by industries, transportation, buildings, and agriculture do the most to the devastating state of the world we experience.

However, people have not been able to answer all the questions that surround the problems of climatic change. The urgency to fix the issue of the world is becoming intense considering the degrading effects of climatic changes. As a result, Open Innovation seems pivotal at this point.

Open Innovation

Open Innovation collaborates with people to solve this common issue of man. Every individual does not have all of the answers to these problems. However, there is strength in unity; this is where collective innovation power is needed. People have simple solutions but can be agglomerated into practical solutions for all.

Why should we innovate?

Innovation helps to have specific purposes and targeted goals. Innovations aim at permanent solutions rather than providing solutions for a temporary fix. As a result, different people and organizations have innovated several solutions to deliver these solutions. These innovations come as New and Protected Products (NPPs).

Technology Readiness Levels

New and Protected Products (NPPs) arise from synthesis, application, and manufacturing. The ecosystem of partnership brings organizations together to solve the common problem – having a green community. Also, organizations can enjoy a competitive advantage from these partnerships. With the innovation method, you can measure performance outcomes.

Skin science has contributed immensely to this new revolution as it has developed a long-term relationship. Skin science focuses on healthy products rather than using some products that could increase the unpleasant gases in the atmosphere. As a result, they have an excellent effect on the body and, eventually, the environment.

Also, partnerships bring smart science to the market. Many organizations with good intentions are becoming known because the world now pays attention to its global problem. For example, entekno provides sunscreen with UV protection over traditional spheres. Also, Glass flakes are environmentally friendly for the industrial and coating market.

Industrial contribution

Nautilus is another collaborative partner in Open Innovation. The company offers a natural source of personal care actives for the skin. Enza Biotech AB builds a platform of sugar-based surfactants which are degradable by the body. Also, the surfactants are biodegradable and do not increase the number of pollutants in the environment.

Another top organization that should be commended for its efforts to achieve a green society is Novel Process Development. Their effort includes the use of safe plants for economic benefit and carbon dioxide reduction. These plants help to purify the atmosphere and make it healthier for life. In addition, plants use Carbon dioxide for their activities and release oxygen into the environment. This reduces the toxicity in the environment and the materials therein.

Also, Supercritical CO₂is another innovation that helps achieve a safe environment. They contribute to the environment by replacing the typical carbon dioxide, which increases global warming. Global warming or the greenhouse effect refers to a high temperature making the world inhabitable for life. Supercritical CO₂replaces atmospheric carbon dioxide and eliminates the adverse effect it may cause to the world.

Agricultural contribution

Finally, another company with immense contribution is Agrochemical drift reduction technology. The focus is on agricultural products that help agriculture but help the environment. They are biodegradable purifiers that remove the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The agricultural products are friendly to human lives and animals. Eventually, it reduces the existing pollutants in the environment.

The technology uses drying droplet analysis to produce healthy chemicals that are compatible with the crops. Also, they are friendly with the environment.

Another collaboration is with Advanced Therapeutics. It brings us closer to our competition in a comfortable way. Many efforts are improving medical and pharmaceutical formulation to provide a better world for all.

Conclusion

Achieving a stable and clean environment should be everyone’s effort. The world is dying, and we are responsible for it. In the same vein, we can be more accountable for our solution to make it green. A safe world is precious to life and growth. Open Innovation is the solution to achieve it all.

You can find all recorded presentation on our CIEX Portal. It also contains past case studies and images captured from past CIEX conferences. Your next chance to join our CIEX live is in Frankfurt, October 5 & 6, 2022.

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Developing new business models and eco-design actions at Elkem

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Synthesis gas: A technology suite key to a low-carbon footprint production of chemicals

Developing new business models and eco-design actions at Elkem

The annual CIEX conference is taking place again on October 5&6 in Frankfurt, Germany. In the run-up to the event, we are talking to some of our key speakers. In our latest blog, Louis Vovelle, at Elkem speaks about his company’s climate roadmap, circular economy, the importance of open innovation and the need for increased agility.

CIEX: Without giving too much away – what is the core message of your talk and what would you like delegates to remember?

LV: Elkem has developed an ESG strategy for a long time and last year, we presented our climate roadmap, of which the circular economy is one of the components. Circular Economy is a quite new domain for us but behind this subject, we are gradually discovering that it is not a question of providing simple technical solutions but of operating a systemic shift in our product/process design and also in our relationships with our partners (suppliers/customers). In brief, what are the fundamentals of a lean and smart circular economy strategy? Can we keep an organizational agility in a such complex domain? How to onboard everyone and to convince them of our approach? How to be sure the chosen topics are the most material and how to avoid greenwashing?

CIEX: Why did you choose the topic of your talk?

Louis Vovelle: The urgency for action on these subjects and a personal appetite for risk taking. It is important for us to compare our ideas with our peers and receive their feedback.

For one, companies and governments are setting ambitious targets for the next decades, through this presentation, we would like to stress that, beyond carbon emissions considerations, collaborations and partnerships will be key to anticipate, prevent and adapt.

In addition, Open Innovation is a strong focus for Elkem and a key lever for growth, we believe that developing this kind of ecosystems on this domain is and will be a strong enabler and a competitive advantage.

CIEX: What motivates you to join CIEX 2022 and what are your expectations?

Louis Vovelle: Sharing initiatives, creating new links and strengthening our ecosystem is mandatory if we want to succeed on Circular Economy. Things are moving too fast and we don’t have all the competences and answers inside to find the best and more sustainable solutions. Then, we have to develop these transitions from linear to circular and only partnerships and an open mindset with suppliers, customers, academics will allow us to find the best models and best practices. Looking at the CIEX agenda, my expectations are very simple – To have “shaking” days, great contacts and new projects first at the European level.

CIEX: The need for innovation has been a continued topic for the chemical industry –how would you sum up the current state of the industry, specifically with a focus on its innovation efforts?

Louis Vovelle: If we look at the current state of the chemical industry and its efforts around Innovation, the words that come up are collaborative projects, acceleration and awareness. We all know that we have to change our practices if we want to develop sustainable growth that is acceptable to society as a whole. Innovation in the broad sense involving new business models, new organizations will be one of the key elements of success. Results of innovation to date has been judged mainly on amount and speed of economic success, innovation also now needs to ensure that it focuses on delivering sustainable success. Seeing that companies in the chemical industry have taken up this subject makes me very optimistic but also responsible of our role for the future.

CIEX: What must (chemical) industry leaders do to remain competitive and prepare for the future?

Louis Vovelle: The answer is not so obvious because it must respond to divergent imperatives depending on the time scale. In the long term, the obligation of a “greener” industry will prevail. So, we have a starting point and a strategy for the next 5-10 years. There is of course a way to get there, but the impact of externalities (different regulations depending on the region, Energy balance, Governmental policies, etc.) is more difficult to grasp. One of the ways to maintain our competitiveness is certainly to de-risk our initiatives with even more collaboration and great agility and simplicity in our decision-making

CIEX: Louis, thank you very much. We look forward to hearing more at CIEX 2022!

Hear more from Louis Vovelle and the chemical industry’s innovation strategies and decarbonisation efforts at CIEX 2022. Speakers include C-level representatives from Solvay, Clariant, Nobian, Evonik, GFBiochemicals, Pryme, Dow and many more. Tickets are available at ciex-eu.org.

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Synthesis gas: A technology suite key to a low-carbon footprint production of chemicals

The annual CIEX conference is taking place again on October 5&6 in Frankfurt, Germany. In the run-up to the event, we are talking to some of our key speakers. Today we are speaking with Maurits van Tol, CTO for Johnson Matthey who will analyse the role syngas can play in decarbonisation efforts.

CIEX: Maurits, thank you very much for being with us at CIEX 2022. Without giving too much away –what is the core message of your talk and what would you like delegates to remember?

Maurits van Tol: Our world relies on chemicals – everything from cleaning products to jet fuel, food packaging to building materials. To tackle climate change, it’s vital that we decarbonise their production, decarbonising in the sense of us using non-fossil carbon sources and keeping carbon atoms “in the loop”. Synthesis gas or ‘syngas’, a key building block of many important chemicals and fuels, is the gateway to this decarbonised world.

We can enable our customers in the industry to shift away from traditional fossil fuels and make syngas from more sustainable feedstocks like biomass, and even waste, utilizing renewable energy to the maximum extent. Using our suite of technologies, this syngas can then be transformed into the chemicals we need to maintain our current standards of living. The message is that there can be a more sustainable future for the chemical industry, for all of us, and syngas is at the centre of it.

CIEX: Why did you choose the topic of your talk?

Maurits van Tol: As the impacts of climate change increase, the chemical industry is under increasing pressure to deliver on net zero targets. There is technology available now, and more in development, that can help the industry transition and meet this need. As a leader in the syngas value chain, at Johnson Matthey we recognise the important role syngas has to play in a decarbonised world. This talk is an opportunity to share that vision and highlight some of our exciting newly launched technologies that are key pieces in the decarbonisation puzzle.

CIEX: What motivates you to join CIEX 2022 and what are your expectations?

Maurits van Tol: Collaboration is hugely important in innovation, now more than ever with the transition to net zero happening at pace. We need to work together to deliver the solutions that we need, that the planet needs. CIEX brings together leaders and experts from across the value chain and is a great opportunity to combine expertise and share ideas. I expect to hear some engaging talks and be part of some great discussions. And I expect to leave the conference inspired, with a list of potential partners and collaborators that we can work with to build a net zero future.

CIEX: The need for innovation has been a continued topic for the chemical industry –how would you sum up the current state of the industry, specifically with a focus on its innovation efforts and decarbonisation?

Maurits van Tol: Innovation has always been extremely important to the chemical industry. However, traditionally chemical corporations had huge R&D/Innovation departments, inventing many technologies and solutions in quite an isolated fashion. However, with very material transformations going on in the fields of mobility, energy, the development of low-carbon emitting technologies for the production of chemical building blocks, chemicals and fuels for example, this insular approach does not work anymore. The urgency to combat climate change is such that it is “all hands on deck” in a wide variety of collaboration models. Outside-in, collaboration and consortia are key words describing innovation at the chemical industry going forward.

CIEX: What must (chemical) industry leaders do to remain competitive and prepare for the future?

Maurits van Tol: We need to diversify our approach to innovation and that means building external partnerships with innovation ecosystems to complement our internal R&D. Working with universities, start-ups, and other industry leaders, we can work together to evaluate new technologies and accelerate the commercialisation of viable solutions. Through this collaborative approach we can also tap into external capabilities and increase the pace of our innovation through access to cutting-edge digital tools. All of this requires agility and flexibility and is a shift in culture for large corporates, but we’ve seen the value that embracing ‘outside-in’ innovation can bring.

Hear more about the chemical industry’s innovation strategies and decarbonisation efforts at CIEX 2022. Speakers include C-level representatives from Solvay, Clariant, Nobian, Evonik, GFBiochemicals, Pryme, Dow and many more.

Get your ticket at ciex-eu.org

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Making sustainability a reality in the chemical industry | Clariant

Sustainability is the ultimate driver for innovation in the chemical industry. As the earth continues to experience an environmental crisis whose deadline for solutions was yesterday, the industry must make sustainability happen today through circularity, innovation and collaboration. Consequently, one of the leading chemical players, Clariant, is making decisive moves to push the sustainable development goals 12 and 13: responsible production and consumption, and climate change respectively.

Dr Martin Vollmer, Chief Technology Officer at Clariant, shared some of the key initiatives through which the company is innovating sustainability at the 2021 CIEX conference. Clariant’s activities span three core areas: care chemicals, catalysis and natural resources. In order to achieve truly transformative goals in these areas, sustainability has been embedded in the company’s values and strategy. This strategy is five-fold:

Focus on innovation research and development
Add value with sustainability
Repositioning of its portfolio
Intensified growth
Increased profitability

However, the validity of any strategy is underlined by its execution. For Clariant, innovating towards greater sustainability in the chemical industry meant tackling seven sustainability challenges in five ways.

Seven Sustainability Challenges of the Chemical Industry

While these challenges are clear and distinct, Dr Vollmer emphasizes that they are connected through their solutions.

In this vein, a special department at Clariant called Sustainability Development Unit is responsible for collaborating with other departments in order to unite efforts towards climate neutral operations and a sustainability driven portfolio change. So how does Clariant work towards goals while addressing these seven challenges?

1. Setting Clear Measurable Goals:

Following from the broad goal of zero net emissions, Clariant decided to establish ambitious interim goals towards 2030. To improve the climate change crises by reducing greenhouse emissions by a combined 54%. On the other hand, making operations more sustainable by decreasing water intake and waste by a combined 45%, reducing landfilled non-hazardous waste by 40% and hazardous waste by 45% among others. The sustainability unit consistently monitors relevant data on these goals to improve solutions.

2. Consumer-Centric Innovation Process:

Consumers are increasingly concerned about the carbon footprint of the products they purchase. Thus, adapting the product innovation process for circularity is a big deal at Clariant. Using industry generated tools like CompTox Suite, the company is able to evaluate innovations at the very earliest stages. Dr Vollmer encouraged the use of CompTox Suite for instance, because of its ability to highlight elements that may seem neutral at first but prove hazardous eventually. When everything goes well, a product typically hits the market with the EcoTain certification – a mark of sustainability.

3. Biomass feedstock:

By 2050, it is predicted that fossil feedstock will be totally eclipsed in the chemical industry by bio-based, CO2-based and recycled feedstock. Clariant has chosen to take an active part in this eradication of fossil feedstock and effectively make sustainability happen by engaging in circular solutions, hydrogen economy and bioeconomy. This is where most of the magic happens, and partnership is key.

Increasing ROI from Biomass Feedstock

The sunliquid process takes the enormous waste from agricultural products. For example, wheat stalk and processes them into cellulosic sugar and eventually cellulosic ethanol. Dr Vollmer puts the massive environmental savings into perspective by illustrating that from the hectre which produces seven tons of crop also comes up to five tons of straw. The seven tons goes into production of starch sugar for nutrition but what happens to the five tons of straw? Often they are burnt.

However, those five tons have the potential to yield up to 2.5 tons of cellulosic sugar! And this without interfering with the food chain. The need to profitably access this yield and transform it to ethanol inspired sunliquid® technology. This technology is the chief Clariant product not the second generation bioethanol; this is because wide-adaptation of the technology can bring significant changes. Also, beyond bioethanol, the sunliquid® process has the capacity to generate other biochemicals through biotechnology and catalysis.

Pilot Plant in Romania Shows High Energy Savings

To illustrate the commercial viability of this technology, Clariant is setting up a plant in Romania to prove their concept to stakeholders. When implemented correctly, sunliquid® plants will achieve high energy savings. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 120% (taking carbon capture into consideration) and save up to 147,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions in the transport industry with just one plant.

Layout of Clariant’s bioethanol plant in Romania

The goal with Clariant’s first plant in Romania is to valorise 250,000 tons of straw to produce 50,000 tons of bioethanol per year. Like its products, the plant is poised for circularity in the way it effectively engages the by-products of operations. Two key byproducts of the process, lignin and vinasse are fed back into the system. Lignin is used as an energy source to power the sunliquid® plant, and vinasse as a bio-fertilizer for the wheat fields.

In order to make the plant completely circular there is an opportunity for partnerships in capturing CO2 emissions. At the same time, feeding it back into the system as residue to be re-processed.

Sunliquid® effectively recycles byproducts: lignin and vinasse

Safe and Sustainable Design Outside the Plant

To improve sustainability in the chemical industry, stakeholders must continually question how they can make even the extraction process of nutritional elements more circular. One example Dr Vollmer uses to illustrate the economic potential here is Clariant’s Licocare® from Rice Bran.

The difference between edible rice bran oil and crude rice bran oil is mostly the crude rice oil wax. This wax is a byproduct of the process and often ends up as waste. In line with their goal of reducing waste by 45%, Clariant upvalues this wax to produce Licocare® Rice Bran Wax, a bio-additive solution for plastics. Additionally, this meets the needs of Clariant’s plastic customers, making it a win-win in people, planet and profit.

Upvaluing Crude rice bran wax into Licocare® Rice Bran Wax

CO2 as Feedstock: Here, Clariant enters the Hydrogen economy. The goal is to hydrogenate CO2 to produce methane, ethanol and possibly (depending on the availability of hydrogen), Ammonia – a new energy carrier. To this end, Clariant is working towards establishing plants to purify CO2 emissions from steel production. Why the steel industry? Because it accounts for 5% of global emissions.

The potential of CO2 as feedstock
Partnering for Circularity: Some goals may seem daunting even in the long term. There are several immediate ways in which stakeholders can contribute to innovation in the chemical industry for sustainability. Participating actively in policy development and sustainability discourse does go a long way in partnering for circularity. This is why Clariant sits on the table of various global organisations like the World Economic Forum’s Low Emitting Technologies Initiative.

Clariant engages industry stakeholders toward circularity

Nevertheless, Clariant is just one player. The potential for sustainability in the chemical industry depends on the willingness of all stakeholders to innovate towards it. The aim of sharing Clariant’s goals and methods is to provide content that can catalyse further innovation and partnership. Remember, the Earth’s crises needed a solution yesterday. So what will your company do today?

Your next chance to join CIEX live is CIEX 2022 in Frankfurt, October 5&6, 2022. Book your ticket at https://ciex-eu.org/.

In addition, you can find past presentations in our video archive at https://ciex-eu.org/presentations-from-ciex-2020/#

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Creating a sustainable future by fundamentally re-imagining the chemical business model

The Chemical Innovation Exchange – CIEX Europe 2021 conference is back face-to-face on 6-7 October in Frankfurt. As all our speakers are preparing their upcoming presentations, we are talking to them to find out their core message. This week, we spoke with Ari Kar, Chief Technology Officer, at SACHEM on his exciting presentation on crafting a strategy for sustainability journey.

CIEX: Without giving too much away –what is the core message of your talk and what would you like delegates to remember?

Ari: There is a growing realization that business operations and sustainable growth are increasingly impacted by the Earths environmental and resource limits, by broader socioeconomic issues, and by rising stakeholder expectations. The growing challenge is for business leaders to navigate through wide-ranging, rapidly changing environmental and social forces. While still delivering the financial results on which their stakeholders depend. To endure and thrive, organizatmodeions need to incorporate consideration of these dynamics into their strategies, business models, operational planning, and daily activities. Additionally, the global demand for sustainable solutions is both a significant business challenge and an exciting opportunity for innovation, value creation, and growth. This if we integrate business and financial objectives with the generation of broader environmental and societal benefits.

Chemistry is essential to life

Chemistry is essential to life and to meeting our basic needs in chemical innovation. It touches almost every aspect of our lives. Also, it will play an integral role in creating a sustainable future. We aim to seek out innovative ways to address environmental and societal needs through our core business model. Therefore, it will elevate the quality of life and make a positive difference in the world.

We have recently started our sustainability journey, with a major initiative that began during the pandemic. Our vision is to help create a sustainable future by fundamentally re-imagining our business model in a manner that turns sustainability into a core company value, and source of business advantage. Our approach is to use a holistic systems framework to consider the entire business ecosystem. At the same time, weave sustainability into the overall purpose, strategy, structure, work practices, and culture of the company. Everyone has a role to play! In sustainable innovation and growth, and in understanding and shaping the impact of the daily choices and decisions we make. Thus, we are starting our journey with an enhanced focus on waste reduction, improved customer experience, development of a sustainable product portfolio, and making a positive community impact.

CIEX: Why did you choose the topic of your talk?

Ari: This topic sits squarely at the intersection between critical business needs, macro-level socio-economic trends, the health and future of our planet, and my personal and professional values. I am passionate and purposeful about building and continuously improving products, systems and organizations. My goal is to create long-lasting impact and value and to contribute to the common good.

CIEX: What motivates you to join CIEX 2020 and what are your expectations?

Ari: I was a participant in the 2019 CIEX conference and found it very interesting, informative, and thought-provoking. In addition, I enjoy engaging with colleagues around the world. To understand regional perspectives and approaches on the global megatrends that drive innovation, progress and continuous improvement. At CIEX 2019 I was able to hear and learn from industry leaders, international experts and innovative thinkers from around the globe. Some of the things I took away from the 2019 conference became seeds for the initiation of our sustainability program. In CIEX 2021, I will be taking a more active role. I am looking forward to learning from and collaborating with others. Additionally, I will share some thoughts and insights that I hope may be of value to others.

CIEX: The need for innovation has been a continued topic for the chemical industry. How would you sum up the current state of the industry, specifically with a focus on its innovation efforts?

Ari: Looking back at the past few years, there is no doubt that we live in a VUCA world (characterized as Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous). The pace of change and the need for innovation to address global challenges has never been greater. We expect these trends to only increase and accelerate over the foreseeable future. Rather than seeing this as a threat to protect against, we need to see it as an opportunity to innovate and create a better future. For example, we can do this by directly linking the drivers of business value and competitive advantage to sustainability principles. Finally, working collaboratively with others to address global challenges.

CIEX: What must (chemical) industry leaders do to remain competitive and prepare for the future?

Ari: Firstly, transformations in sustainability and digitalization will be critical to survival and growth. In our industry, this means taking an interdisciplinary approach. To create and build a circular economy with advanced chemicals, materials and business models. Therefore, will improve and sustain the quality of life for future generations. Secondly, we will need to get better at communicating the integral role chemistry plays in addressing environmental and societal needs. Lastly, find out how this positively impacts people in their daily lives. To do this effectively, products, services and communications will need to be designed and tailored for both Global needs, as well as Regional/National/Local needs and interests.

CIEX: Thank you, Ari. We look forward to your presentation at CIEX 2021!

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Gaining competitive advantage with the circular economy

Sustainability is the language of the future

Sustainability is the language of the future. So, if your business wants to gain a competitive advantage, it must enrol in the school of the circular economy. This was the key message of Richard Haldaimann’s presentation at CIEX 2020.

The circular economy stands on three principles: reduce, reuse, and recycle. The goal is to recreate the natural ‘circle of life’ in the industrial process.

Typically, what we have is a linear trajectory. From raw materials straight to final product, with humungous waste to show for it. This waste which is triggering scientific panic attacks whenever any discourse related to the environment comes up. So, the industrial process needs to change.

However, circularity is only one dimension of sustainability. It has to interact with others so that its purpose isn’t defeated.

Incorporating circularity implies a need to strive for climate neutrality by lowering the overall carbon footprint in a product’s lifecycle. After all, what’s the point of an easily recyclable product if you have to burn more carbon to get it? Reduce.

Figure 1: Dimensions of Sustainability

Circularity equally underscores the goal of zero pollution. This means working towards recovering components involved in production, allowing you to Reuse.

You also need to integrate safer chemicals into the production process. Fully biodegradable chemicals, and if not, at least make it easier to Recycle.

Keeping this picture in mind will help you smoothly implement Richard Haldaimann’s 3 steps to securing your competitive advantage. Richard is the Head of Sustainability Transformation at Clariant, an industry leader that provides over 9,000 speciality chemicals to a broad industry.

THREE STEPS TOWARDS A CIRCULAR ECONOMY

1) Make circularity and sustainability a strategic imperative

2) Provide your organization with the manpower and connections to access circular business opportunities

3) Foster value chain co-creation and easy-to-understand marketing communication.

ESTABLISH A STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE FOR CIRCULARITY

Naturally, nothing works till you decide it matters enough to work. Even from a utilitarian perspective, you can’t lose with the circular economy. By opting for a production cycle rather than a production line, you’ll be effectively:

– Reducing the cost of production due to increased recycling

– Abating consumer anxiety about pollution. Less anxiety improves brand love, thus, pushing competitive advantage.

– Cultivating positive relationships with environmentalist organizations as well as industry stakeholders.

As soon as you decide you have to, the foundation is already solid.

EMPOWER YOUR ORGANIZATION TO ACCESS CIRCULAR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

Now for the pillars. Obviously, how to do the deed is unique for each organization, but the principles remain the same.

1) Hardwire sustainability into your production process

At every step of the way you have to investigate how to bring in the dimensions of circularity.

Like this, you’re not trying to find a way to ‘fit’ your product into the circular economy, rather you’re ENGINEERING a product for the circular economy. Beginning at ideation, conduct market research that highlights the sustainability needs and concerns of your customers.

This ensures the development of a product that wasn’t just sustainable on your end but improves the sustainability of other products it interacts with along the value chain.

Regarding Clariant, this approach involves conducting a customer survey on the toxicology and recyclability of their chemicals; including their effect on the customer’s manufacturing process.

2) Create a Team

You need a team of dedicated professionals that combine strategic leadership with excellent capabilities to yield sustainability transformation. Here’s the organizational structure Clariant implements.

– Advocacy and Public affairs: This department is all about cooperating with legal stakeholders, and providing insights on policy developments.

– Sustainability affairs: Your opportunity trackers. They are responsible for bringing all stakeholders to the table and engaging them to discover what issues need to be addressed. An efficient research and dialogue team.

– Sustainable portfolio: Your innovation experts. They mastermind solutions. Providing answers which adapt research findings.

– Sustainable Operations: Finally, your engineers for turning those ideas into reality.

Figure 2: Leadership and Responsibility

3. Cross Business Unit Platform

Richard says “collaboration manages complexity and achieves circular economy solutions”. Accordingly, you have to create some kind of platform that encourages cooperation towards sustainable innovation among members of a value chain.

For the plastic industry they cater to, Clariant developed Ecocycle. An entity that unites business units such as recyclers, polymer producers, etc to collectively achieve the goal of reducing plastic waste.

MARKETING COMMUNICATION AND VALUE CHAIN CO-CREATION

What good is all that hard work if it isn’t adopted? For Richard and his team, the first way to eliminate this hurdle is through value chain co-creation and designing for marketing communication. Here’s a good example of how this worked in Clariant.

Value Chain Co-Creation

In the body care industry they cater to, there’s a widespread use of black plastic packaging to create a sense of product exclusivity. Sadly, the dye for these plastics isn’t compatible with the sorting process involved in recycling (sustainability affairs).

So, Clariant involved a key manufacturer in the body care industry-Unilever, and the manufacturers of these sorting machines-Tomra, in generating a solution.

The task was to solve this problem while satisfying the marketing strategy of the black aesthetic (sustainable portfolio). In the end, they created a black (sustainable operations) Near-Infrared (NIR) detectable colourant that met this need.

The market adoption was fantastic. It created a new circular value chain and gave Clariant a competitive advantage.

Marketing Communication

Marketing gives your product wings. To sell a product that provides circularity, you have to help marketing communication by creating a designator that points to that circularity. Hence, Clariant created AddWorks. Manufacturing guidelines that enable circularity. Addworks has a circle designator, printed on products that meet these criteria–a clear and easily understood distinction.

For example, Clariant created a polymer stabilizer which when used in the production of BOPP film, increases its ability to be recycled without compromising quality (more benefits below). The final product bears the designator. Thus, effectively communicating its circular value and encouraging adoption.

Figure 3: Benefits

Consider now the time to optimise your business for the reality of today. Innovate for the common good and earn your competitive advantage.

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Your next chances to join CIEX live are during our CIEX Data Summit (Virtual conference, May 10, 2022)and CIEX Chemical Innovation Exchange (Frankfurt, October 5&6, 2022). Book your ticket at https://ciex-eu.org/.

In addition, you can find past presentations in our video archive at https://ciex-eu.org/presentations-from-ciex-2020/#

Embrace technology for radically improved innovation

Digital innovation is a core topic of CIEX 2021. Having impressed us and the audience during our start-up panel at CIE X2019, we asked Anita Schjøll Brede CEO & Co-Founder of IRIS.AI back to talk about digital innovation and machine learning at CIEX 2021. While preparing for the conference, we sat down with Anita to talk about her topic, expectations and motivations.

CIEX: Without giving too much away –what is the core message of your talk and what would you like delegates to remember?

Anita Schjøll Brede: The world is moving fast – much faster than we might grasp on a daily basis. Topics like AI, Machine Learning and digitalization have by now made their way into our board rooms, executive meetings and in some cases into our day to day operations. But what do they really mean? Centruy-old innovation leaders in other industries have become obsolete because agile and disruptive players have entered the market and within few years bypassed the market caps. So what prevents fully digital players to to so in the chemical industry? Is there anything inherent in this industry that prevents disruption? What can large players do to stay relevant into the future?

CIEX: Why did you choose the topic of your talk?

Anita Schjøll Brede: Innovation, disruption, AI and the future is near and dear to my heart – both as the CEO of an AI company developing smart tools for Chemistry R&D, as faculty in Artificial Intelligence at Singularity University, and as Board Member of the Katapult startup accelerator programs. This is what I surround myself with on a daily basis, and sharing my vision of the future to open the dialogue is always exciting.

CIEX: What motivates you to join CIEX 2020 and what are your expectations?

Anita Schjøll Brede: I thoroughly enjoyed my time at CIEX in 2019, which was my first. I loved what I saw there. An industry which in many ways is so far behind the more digitally native industries. Yet an industry that is now realizing the monumental impact exponential technologies will have on their research, development, commercialization and markets. All the players I spoke with and listened to in 2019 were in the early process of turning their massive organizations around. That willingness to change, to confront the inherent slowness, to embrace the future is exciting. And it’s so fascinating to get to play a small part in it.

For 2021, I am hopeful to see some early fruits of this work. To see the rate of change, and to exchange experiences. I come at this from the small, agile AI player side. Being able to spar some really large challenges with corporate giants in an open and welcoming forum such as CIEX is powerful.

CIEX: The need for innovation has been a continued topic for the chemical industry. How would you sum up the current state of the industry, specifically with a focus on its innovation efforts?

Anita Schjøll Brede: Digital innovation is a big and fluffy word that means a lot of different things to different people. I see an industry that has realized that the old incremental innovation systems that have been in place for decades are no longer serving them. There is an outspoken need for more agility and flexibility. To be able to fully embrace the potential embedded in new technology for radically improved innovation. At the same time there’s an inherent inertia embedded in the industry, that my organization get to meet with on a daily basis. New technology for innovation efforts is not enough. New, cross-organizational innovation mindsets are needed, and that can be much harder than developing AI.

CIEX: What must (chemical) industry leaders do to remain competitive and prepare for the future?

Anita Schjøll Brede: The agility and flexibility needed to remain relevant also in the future is difficult for massive corporations. But it is not impossible. My experience is that a mindset open to broad collaboration – internally and externally – within innovation is essential. Opening up for more experimentation, flexible processes, smaller project teams with larger autonomy and agency to try (and to fail) are keys to transformation. It is my belief that any company building and sticking to 5-year plans (rather than 5-year visions) is going to get in trouble. There needs to be room to change course, rapidly.

CIEX: Anita, thank you very much. We look forward to hearing more at CIEX 2021 this October in Frankfurt!

Related: Innovation through cross-industry collaboration: Pre-conference Interview with Evonik’s Head of Corporate Innovation Strategy

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CIEX 2021 will take place on October 6&7 in Frankfurt/Main and online. Due to the current social distancing measures seats at the live conference are limited. Book your ticket at https://ciex-eu.org/. 2021 Presenters include senior representatives from Dow, Braskem, Evonik, Clariant, Du Pont, BASF and many more.

Innovation through cross-industry collaboration: Pre-conference Interview with Evonik’s Head of Corporate Innovation Strategy

Having been at every single CIEX event since our launch five years ago, Dr. Daniel Witthaut, Head of Corporate Innovation Strategy at Evonik is certainly one of our strongest supporter and a much valued speaker. So we were excited to catch up with him ahead of his presentation this October in Frankfurt as part of our CIEX interview series.

CIEX: Dr. Witthaut, first of all thank you for all your support over the past five years. We are very excited to have you back in 2021 with your talk on “Driving innovation in sustainability by cross-industry collaboration”. Without giving too much away –what is the core message of your presentation and what would you like delegates to remember?

Daniel Witthaut: The core message of my talk will be that we need to have cooperation to address the challenges but also to reap the potential benefits in the area of innovation for sustainability. Sustainability is part of the business strategies in almost all businesses and there are many examples where co-operations are working very well. But certain mindsets are necessary to explore the full benefits of innovation ecosystems and I will share our experience at Evonik and invite other companies to collaborate.

“I see a huge potential for innovation to deliver on the UN Sustainability Development Goals”

CIEX: Why did you choose the topic of your talk?

Daniel Witthaut: The topic resonates very well with my experience and perspective on transformative innovation. Especially in the area of sustainability, e.g. I see a huge potential for innovation to deliver on the UN Sustainability Development Goals. I believe that these challenges are so demanding, that industries let alone companies cannot solve these issues by themselves. These topics need to be addressed in collaboration between companies, science, policy makers and society in general. Since the topics of co-creation and sustainability not only resonate very much with my heart and experience but with a lot of things that we do at Evonik it was a perfect match to talk about at this year´s conference.

CIEX: What motivates you to join CIEX 2021 and what are your expectations?

Daniel Witthaut: It will be the fifth time that I join the the CIEX conference. The conferences in recent years have been a very good opportunity to cultivate existing contacts. At the same time I managed to establish new and inspiring ones each year. I have the same expectations for this year´s conference. I am looking very much forward not only to the presentations but also to good discussions during the breaks.

“Innovation is one of three levers for profitable growth”

CIEX: The need for innovation has been a continued topic for the chemical industry. How would you sum up the current state of the industry, specifically with a focus on its innovation efforts?

Daniel Witthaut: At Evonik as a leader in specialty chemicals, innovation is one of three levers for profitable growth. Therefore our focus on making our innovation efforts better and better will constantly continue. Innovation efforts in the chemical industry will remain on a high level and I believe this development will continue. What I believe is changing is that the collaborative work for transformative innovation will increase across industry borders. It will more and more include start-ups. While incremental innovation will certainly remain necessary to defend a company´s competitive position, transformative innovation will be essential for substantial growth above market growth rates.

CIEX: What must (chemical) industry leaders do to remain competitive and prepare for the future?

Daniel Witthaut: I believe leaders must find the right balance between short term and long term oriented decisions. Certainly the current COVID-19 crisis has significant impact on several -but fortunately not on all- businesses. Leaders must weigh cutting costs, driving productivity, and implementing safety measures and so on against supporting innovation driven growth. Here we have to find the right approach to address today´s challenges. At the same time we cannot forget about the long term and sacrifice long term efforts for short term benefits. Sufficiently supporting innovation these days will be a key for unlocking growth after the crisis. I remember that Evonik developed very well after the financial crisis in 2008 / 2009 as Evonik did not lay off people and kept the R&D budgets at the same level during the crisis years.

CIEX: Thank you very much Dr. Witthaut.

You can find the recorded presentation on our CIEX blog. It also contains more than 100 case studies and images captured from past CIEX conferences. Your next chances to join a CIEX related event are during our Virtual – CIEX Data Summit (May 10, 2022) and live CIEX (Frankfurt, October 5 & 6), 2022.

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Embrace technology for radically improved innovation

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CIEX 2020: Pre-Conference Interview with Richard Haldimann, Head of Sustainability for Clariant

At the upcoming CIEX 2020 Virtual conference on 7th – 8th October, Richard Haldimann Head of Sustainability Transformation at CLARIANT will discuss innovation driven by circular economy in his presentation “Gaining competitive advantage with the circular economy – Sustainability transformation at Clariant’’ We have spoken to Richard about his topic of choice and his motivation for joining CIEX 2020.

Question #1: Without giving too much away –what is the core message of your talk and what would you like delegates to remember?

Richard: Climate change, resource scarcity, technological advances, rising customer expectations– these are all real challenges. The chemical industry can and must deliver the innovation needed to create a more sustainable and circular economy. But a more holistic approach will be needed. Adopting circularity in the chemicals industry requires looking at the trends and needs beyond the established customer base and value chains. To gain a competitive advantage, businesses need to close the loop with cross-industry collaboration. Innovation and collaboration combined will help create the infrastructure needed to enable businesses to shift toward circular business models and improved sustainability.

Question #2: Why did you choose the topic of your talk?

Richard: Sustainability is the key societal challenge and therefore presents a unique business opportunity for us. The EU Green Deal with its commitments on a broad range of environment- and sustainability-related targets will become a very strong driver for change in our industry.Citizens and employees are demanding action not only with the Fridays for Future demonstrations but also when choosing the company to work for. Our customers are setting aggressive climate targets and circularity and they expect our industry to help them achieve those. Investors are committing to shifting portfolios and invest in line with the Paris Agreement.Everyone is under a lot of pressure to deliver and contribute to the UN Sustainable Development goals. At Clariant we are systematically pursuing these opportunities through our own sustainability transformation efforts, striving to maximize the synergies that chemistry has within its ecosystem and enable a sustainability transformation in the industry.

Question #3: What motivates you to join CIEX 2020 and what are your expectations?

Richard: The seniority of the participants and the high relevance of the topics. CIEX brings together thought leaders and experts from various fields and is always a good platform for networking along and across the value chain. Collaboration is an essential element of innovatione specially in the area of sustainability and circular economy and CIEX fosters this. My expectation is to develop connections in different fields and come away feeling inspired by what we will see and hear.

Question #4: The need for innovation has been a continued topic for the chemical industry –how would you sum up the current state of the industry, specifically with a focus on its innovation efforts?

Richard: The chemical industry is at a crossroads. Striving for carbon neutrality presents a huge challenge for many companies.Our industry has the innovation capability to deliver the solutions to many of the sustainability challenges we see today – if we decide that this is the priority and are willing to invest. Public funding will remain vital to limit the financial risks associated with significant investment in promising new technologies. The chemical industry is not always the most visible and yet we are fundamental to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Question #5: What must (chemical) industry leaders do to remain competitive and prepare for the future?

Richard: The global chemical industry faces a transformational change. We must embrace the challenges ahead, specifically those in the sustainability area, and see these as an opportunity. This is vital for our industry to remain competitive and relevant in the future.Without the continued development of sustainability-driven offerings, our businesses – some sooner than others – will start to lose markets, profitability and, ultimately, the interest of shareholders.Agility has become abuzz word and it may well prove the vital ingredient alongside talent.It’s a more speedy and digital chemical future in front of us. Leaders of the future will be the ones that quickly adapt to a rapidly changing environment and deliver what society needs.

Question #6: Looking back on the past 3 months please share your thoughts on the impact of COVID-19 on the industry but also society in general

Richard: The epidemic forced companies to adapt quickly to unprecedented and difficult circumstances. I was struck by how people rose to thechallenge,thriving in a crash course in organizational agility and virtual team working and quickly building digital capabilities. I think we can be proud of our industry’s readiness to adjust operations and work together to supply urgently needed specialty chemicals like disinfectants to support the fight against COVID-19.

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